国际英语新闻:Bangladeshi rescuers detect ferry like objects, operation hampered by rough water

DHAKA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Bangladeshi rescuers searching for a missing ferry in river Padma on Saturday could have made some breakthrough as they detected "an image" like the ferry, but their operation was hampered as the water got quite rough on bad weather.

The Bangladesh Navy Tugboat Kandari-2, which is searching for the ferry with another Navy ship Jarip-10 with modern equipment, detected the object in the afternoon within one kilometer of the site of the accident near Mawa Ghat in Munshiganj district. But the tugboat could not send divers to about 90 feet down into the river to confirm that it is the sunken ferry Pinak-6 due to the bad weather.

The weather became rough because a depression has developed in the Bay of Bengal, for which the weather office has issued a cautionary signal No. 3 for river vessel movement in the southern coastal districts of Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, the authorities have suspended ferry services and speed boat services on the river route in Padma.

Commander of Bangladesh Navy Manzoor Ahmed, briefing reporters at the site of the accident, said, "We are certain that we have detected a metallic object within one kilometer of Mawa Ghat, in the northeast bank of the river where the ferry have gone down with about 250 passengers on Monday while it was on its way to Mawa Ghat from Kewrakandi." He added the ferry's sanctioned capacity is 85 persons.

"The length of the detected object is about 16 feet and the object was some sort of deformed," Ahmed said. The length of the missing ferry is around 17 feet, the information center set up at Mawa Ghat said.

The rescuers will start the operation on Sunday and send divers to confirm whether it is the missing ferry or not.

Tugboat Kandari-2 would continue its work Saturday night, the rescuers said. If it is confirmed that the detected object is the missing ferry, then the two salvage ships standing at the site would start their work for lifting the ferry on Sunday.

The commander apparently confirmed that the object they detected is the missing ferry.

The death toll of the incident as of Saturday rose to 43, as more bodies were found. The information center said 124 more persons were still missing.