Bangladesh ferry probe blames overcrowding
BANGLADESH - 18 DECEMBER 2009
DHAKA Overloading and staff carelessness were to blame for two recent ferry accidents in Bangladesh that killed 131 people, according to government probes unveiled on Friday.
At least 85 people drowned in late November when the overloaded triple-decker ferry MV Coco-4 capsized off Bhola Island in the country's south. A week later another boat sunk in the northeast, leaving 46 people dead.
Staff on the MV Coco-4 caused the ship's two thousand passengers -- four times its legal capacity -- to panic when they locked exit gates to collect fares, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan told AFP.
"This drove passengers to gather on one side of the ferry (causing) the vessel to lose its balance and capsize," he said, citing the Bhola probe.
The already overloaded ferry had taken on more passengers after leaving port, packing people into the hatch, the minister said. He added that the ship's owner had modified the approved design and added an illegal third deck.
On December 2, the government-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation filed a case against ship owners Tareque Rahman and Arafat Rahman Coco, he said. The men are the sons of opposition leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
A separate probe said the second ferry accident, which occurred after two ferries collided on the Daira river, was due to neither vessel having taken any cautionary measures in the light foggy weather.
A third accident struck this week when at least 1,000 people were rescued in southern Bangladesh after an overloaded ferry hit a bridge in dense fog and started taking on water.
Boat and ferry accidents due to lax safety standards and overloading are common in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by 230 rivers.
More than 3,000 people are estimated to have lost their lives in ferry accidents since 1977.
Source: AFP
BANGLADESH - 18 DECEMBER 2009
DHAKA Overloading and staff carelessness were to blame for two recent ferry accidents in Bangladesh that killed 131 people, according to government probes unveiled on Friday.
At least 85 people drowned in late November when the overloaded triple-decker ferry MV Coco-4 capsized off Bhola Island in the country's south. A week later another boat sunk in the northeast, leaving 46 people dead.
Staff on the MV Coco-4 caused the ship's two thousand passengers -- four times its legal capacity -- to panic when they locked exit gates to collect fares, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan told AFP.
"This drove passengers to gather on one side of the ferry (causing) the vessel to lose its balance and capsize," he said, citing the Bhola probe.
The already overloaded ferry had taken on more passengers after leaving port, packing people into the hatch, the minister said. He added that the ship's owner had modified the approved design and added an illegal third deck.
On December 2, the government-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation filed a case against ship owners Tareque Rahman and Arafat Rahman Coco, he said. The men are the sons of opposition leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
A separate probe said the second ferry accident, which occurred after two ferries collided on the Daira river, was due to neither vessel having taken any cautionary measures in the light foggy weather.
A third accident struck this week when at least 1,000 people were rescued in southern Bangladesh after an overloaded ferry hit a bridge in dense fog and started taking on water.
Boat and ferry accidents due to lax safety standards and overloading are common in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by 230 rivers.
More than 3,000 people are estimated to have lost their lives in ferry accidents since 1977.
Source: AFP
