Fire engulfed ferry kills 39 and injures hundreds

The fire is believed to have started in the engine room and quickly spread as the ferry travelled along the Sugandha river at around 3:00 local time ( 21:00 GMT Thursday), according to Kamal Hossain Bhuiyan, officer from fire services.

The ship’s owner Hum Jalala Sheikh, has denied it was caused by a mechanical fault.  There has been an explosion on the ferry’ second floor, and the subsequent fire had spread to the engine room. The fire is thought to have started in the engine room, spreading rapidly, as sprinklers or other safety measures were of little effect.

It is common to see ferries capsize in Bangladesh as passengers are loaded onto poorly maintained boats, with poorly trained crews, often way above the vessel’s rated capacity.

Thirty per cent of Bangladesh’s 170 million people often commute through river routes, and the government has not tightened up safety standards,