ML Mostofa-3 Ferry Sinks in Padma River, Bangladesh, Feb. 22, 2015

OrionMystery · #1 ● 02-25-2015, 08:35 AM

ML Mostofa-3, a passenger ferry with two decks, went down on Sunday, February 22, 2015, after a larger vessel collided with it. The sinking took only minutes and occurred in Bangladesh on the Daulatdia-Paturia ferry route across the Padma River, in Manikganj District, Dhaka Division. Its listed capacity was 100 to 120, but roughly 150 people were believed to have been aboard. No manifest was available, as Bangladeshi river ferries do not maintain passenger lists. Passengers estimated the total at 250 to 300, while crew estimates ranged from 150 to 200. About 50 people survived.

After ML Mostofa-3 was refloated and pulled onto land, most of the further bodies were found within its hull, causing the reported death count to rise sharply during the next two days. Accounts at the time put the toll near 70, while later retrospectives gave a figure of at least 78; no firm final total was ever established. More than half of those recovered were women and children. The vessel responsible was identified in differing accounts as either a cargo vessel or a fishing trawler. Authorities seized it and arrested its captain and two crew. Other accounts give the ferry's name as MV Mostofa or Mostafa-3.