Many passengers jumped off and swam to shore on the river in southern Bangladesh. The vessel had 800 aboard. One official says the blaze may have started in the engine room.
A massive fire swept through a crowded river ferry in southern Bangladesh early Friday, leaving at least 39 people dead and 72 injured, as passengers jumped off the vessel and swam to shore, officials said. The blaze broke out around 3 a.m. on the MV Avijan-10, which was carrying 800 passengers off the coast of Jhalokati district on the Sugandha River, they said. Fire officer Kamal Uddin Bhuiyan, who led the rescue operation, said the fire may have started in the engine room. He said 15 fire engines took nearly two hours to control the blaze.
