Dhaka, September 25: At least 20 persons were killed after a boat capsized in Bangladesh's northern district of Panchagarh. As per Dhaka Tribune, at least 30 people are still missing and the number of dead may increase.

The incident was reported from the Aowlia Ghat in Marea Union on Sunday afternoon, Panchagarh Deputy Commissioner Jahirul Islam confirmed. A team of divers from Dhaka was scouring the river to look for more bodies, as thousands of people crowded the river banks to watch the search efforts. Bangladesh: At Least 23 Killed, Several Missing After Boat Capsizes in Karatoa River in Panchagarh.

Boat accidents in Bangladesh are common due to lax safety standards and overloading. As Bangladesh lies on the lower course of mighty rivers - the Ganga, and the Brahmaputra, the country is crisscrossed by 230 rivers. Notably, around 37 persons drowned in December last year after a passenger ferry hit a cargo ship and sank.

At least 85 people drowned in November when an overloaded triple-decker ferry capsized off Bhola Island in the country's south. A week later another boat sank leaving 46 people dead. So far this year, dozens of people have been killed in several smaller boat accidents in Bangladesh.

Naval officials have said more than 95 per cent of Bangladesh's hundreds of thousands of small- and medium-sized boats do not meet minimum safety regulations. But millions of people in Bangladesh rely on boats and ferries to travel to the capital or the delta nation's major cities.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)