23 dead as bus falls in Bangladesh river

At least 23 people died and several were injured as a bus fell into the Padma River in Bangladesh on Wednesday afternoon, reported ANI, quoting officials.

Police said that the rescue operations were paused as it was night, and will resume in the daylight.

"We have recovered 23 dead bodies so far. There may be some still missing, and a few people survived. Since it is night, the rescue operation is somewhat paused, but a combined rescue operation is ongoing, with various forces--fire service, navy, police, and other groups--conducting the rescue. However, due to darkness, the operation is temporarily halted, but it will resume again in the daylight," Police Inspector Russel Mollah told ANI.

The passenger bus fell into the Padma River from a ferry at around 5:00 pm, in front of ferry terminal number 3 in Daulatdia.

The bus, carrying about 40 passengers, was travelling from Rajbari to Dhaka, which is 128 kilometres from Dhaka.

The rescue teams from the fire service and divers are carrying out the rescue operations.