Nearly two dozen people are dead and dozens more are missing in Bangladesh after a passenger boat was struck by up to two cargo vessels, according to reports.
The captain of one cargo boat suspected of colliding with the passenger boat has been arrested, according to local officials.
One witness told local media that two cargo vessels hit the boat, according to the South China Morning Post. About 50 people remain missing.
“I was grazing cattle on the bank. I heard a loud noise and saw the cargo vessels hitting the passenger trawler. I saw the trawler sinking quickly,” witness Nurul Amin told the paper.
The accident took place in a large open body of water in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria, according to reports from officials and Bangladeshi media.
Bangladesh is a low-lying nation at the heart of the Ganges River delta system, and crisscrossed by about 230 other rivers. The country floods frequently during monsoon season, and the battle with rising water levels has grown only worse in recent years because of global warming.
As a result, Bangladeshl relies heavily on water transport and deadly accidents are common because of unskilled labor and poor enforcement of safety rules, the AP reports.
The accident took place about 51 miles east of the capital, Dhaka.