A ferry overloaded with passengers broke in two and sank Monday during a storm in a river in north-eastern India, killing at least 68 dead and 130 missing, police said. About 150 people were rescued or managed to escape by swimming, after a ferry carrying women and children had been shipwrecked in the stormy waters of the Brahmaputra in Assam. The local police officer A. Dass said that rescuers had recovered the bodies of 68 victims, while 132 people were still missing. "There were about 350 people on board when the storm broke in two on the ferry," the police official of Assam, JN Choudhury. Rescuers, including army units, dispatched to the scene of the accident were fighting desperately for survivors but they were hampered by bad weather and darkness. "I've seen people be trained because the river current was strong," "The chances of survival are low" in the river swept away by heavy rains, he added. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who said he was "shocked and dismayed" by the extent of losses, called the sinking of "tragedy" and pledged to provide all necessary government support. The ship was traveling from the neighboring district of Dhubri Fakirganjan when the accident occurred. Dhubri is located some 300 km from Guwahati, Assam's main city. Fishermen living in villages along the Brahmaputra were trying to find survivors in the dark. Trees uprooted by winds blocked access roads to the crash site, preventing rescue teams to reach the area, officials said in Guwahati. More rains were forecast for Tuesday in the region. Boats are a common mode of transport in India in the remotest regions but accidents are common due to ineffective safety standards and too many passengers on board. The death toll could be one of the highest in recent years in Southeast Asia. In October 2010, at least 79 Muslim pilgrims were drowned when their overloaded ship carrying 150 people sank in the State of West Bengal.
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