Five die on overcrowded ferry as Bangladeshis defy coronavirus lockdown for Eid holiday
- The people who died were found unconscious on a ferry near Shibchar, southwest of Dhaka, after more than 1,000 people rushed onto the vessel
- Health experts fear the massive movement of people will spread the virus to the country’s nearly 100,000 rural villages
At least five people died in Bangladesh on Wednesday on an overcrowded ferry carrying more than a thousand passengers, officials said, as millions defied a coronavirus lockdown to head home for the Muslim holiday of Eid.
Tens of millions of Bangladeshis usually travel home to villages for the festival but this year the government has shut down long-haul buses, trains and boats to prevent the virus from spreading.
But ferries used to carry ambulances and food transport trucks have remained in use, prompting a dangerous rush of people in recent days hoping to catch a ride on the vessels ahead of Eid on Friday.
The five people who died were found unconscious on the ferry near Shibchar, southwest of Dhaka, after more than 1,000 people rushed onto the vessel, which is designed to carry mostly buses and cars along with several hundred passengers.
“They passed out in the ferry due to suspected heatstroke. We sent them to a hospital where (they) were declared dead. At least eight were also hospitalised,” police official Chailau Marma said.