DHAKA, Bangladesh—A speedboat carrying about 30 passengers overturned after hitting a sand-laden cargo boat in a Bangladeshi river on Monday, leaving at least 26 people dead, an official said.
The speedboat was carrying passengers in violation of government restrictions during a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, said Rahima Khatun, a top government official in the area.
It overturned Monday morning in the mighty River Padma in central Bangladesh while heading for Madaripur district from Munshiganj district, Khatun said.
![The body of a victim is carried after a speedboat overturned in River Padma at the Kanthalbari ferry terminal in Madaripur, central Bangladesh, on May 3, 2021. (Abdul Goni/AP Photo)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F05%2F03%2Fvictim-speedboat-Bangladesh-600x400.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Divers from various agencies and local people retrieved 26 bodies from the waters and were searching for several others still missing.
Such river accidents are common in Bangladesh, a low-lying delta nation crisscrossed by about 130 rivers, because of lax rules.
Bangladesh is under a lockdown until Wednesday amid a rising number of COVID-19 infections.