By Farid Hossain, Associated Press, 4/21/03

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- A river ferry carrying more than 300 passengers sank during a tropical storm Monday near the Bangladeshi capital, and at least 55 bodies were recovered.

Rescue workers feared many bodies were trapped inside the hull of the sunken ferry, MV Mitali.

The ferry went down in the Buriganga River near Dhaka, police officer Sharif Shamsul Huq said. The vessel had been traveling from Dhaka to the southern Patuakhali district, 95 miles away.

Fifty-five bodies, including those of women and children, were found floating in the choppy river or trapped inside the ferry.

"The death toll is certain to rise," said Selim Newaz Chowdhury, public relations officer for the Bangladesh Fire Brigade. "No one really knows how many people were on board the ferry or how many of them survived."

High winds and dark clouds enveloped the river just before sunset.

"We heard many people screaming for help from the river," said Ahmed Mansur, a shopkeeper on shore. "And when the clouds cleared we saw some people trying to swim to the shore."

Several passengers managed to swim ashore or were rescued by passing fishing boats, Huq said.

The exact number of people on board the MV Mitali could not be determined because most river vehicles in Bangladesh do not have passenger lists.

Also Monday, a second ferry carrying about 100 people in Meghna River capsized in a storm near Bhairab, 50 miles northeast of Dhaka, ATN Bangla TV station reported. Two bodies were found floating in the river, the station said.

No other details were available.

Strong winds and rain lashed parts of Bangladesh on Monday, damaging hundreds of flimsy houses and felling many trees and electricity poles. Tropical storms are common this time of year in Bangladesh, a delta nation of 130 million people.

Sunday storms killed at least seven people and injured 50, officials and news reports said.