Passenger bus falls into river while boarding ferry in Bangladesh, leaving 24 dead

At least 24 people died after a passenger bus carrying ‌around 40 passengers plunged into the Padma ​River ⁠while attempting to board a ‌ferry in Bangladesh, officials said on Thursday.

The accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when the bus ‌lost control approaching a ferry at Daulatdia in ⁠Rajbari district, about 100km from Dhaka.

The bus overturned and sank nearly 30 feet (9m) into the river, according to police and the ​Fire Service and Civil Defence.

It had around 50 passengers on board, many of whom managed to escape. Ten women and five children were among the dead, according to the Fire Department.

Navy divers recover the body of a victim following an accident involving a bus that plunged into the Padma River. AFP

A fire service report said that 24 bodies had been recovered by midday on Thursday.

Some were pulled out by fire service officers, others by locals who come to help, as well as by the navy divers.

Rescuers recovered ‌22 bodies from inside the submerged bus, including six men, 11 women and ⁠five children, Fire Service official Talha Bin Zasim said.

Twenty-four people have been confirmed dead ​so ‌far, including two women who died ‌after being rescued, he said.

Four fire service units and 10 divers were ‌leading the search ‌and rescue efforts, ⁠supported by the army, police, ‌coast guard and local authorities.

Relatives mourn as they console one another after a bus plunged into the Padma River in Goalanda in Bangladesh’s Rajbari district. AFP

The bus was traveling to the capital from the southwestern district of Kushtia as people return to work after the Islamic festival of Eid Al Fitr.

Fire official Dewan Sohel Rana said many of the passengers swam to safety after the accident but others got trapped.

A rescue vessel joined the operation late on Wednesday and lifted the bus, he said, and rescuers worked overnight to recover bodies, finding 24 by Thursday evening.

Strong currents and rains disrupted the rescue operations overnight, he said. It was not clear if there was still anyone missing.

"The bus was waiting to board a ferry, when it fell into the river," said Noor Jahan Begum, 35, who saw the accident. "Some passengers got out of the bus, but their family members died, trapped inside."

Deadly crashes are relatively common in the South Asian nation, because of poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

Bangladesh's Road Safety Foundation reported over 200 deaths during the just-concluded Eid holidays. In one incident, a train rammed into a bus, killing 12.

The World Health Organisation says that while reported road traffic fatalities in Bangladesh are around 5,000 a year, it estimates that actual deaths are far higher, at more than 31,500, according to figures from 2023.

That translates to more than 85 a day in the country of 170 million people.

13 DEAD IN INDIA'S BUS ACCIDENT

In neighbouring India, at least 13 people were killed in a bus crash on Thursday in Andhra Pradesh state, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi called "tragic". The bus burst into flames, burning the bodies.
India, with 1.4 billion people, recorded more than 177,000 road traffic deaths in 2025, according to the roads ministry, or 485 a day.

Agencies