DHAKA: At least 17 people drowned and scores of others were missing after a passenger river ferry sank in eastern Bangladesh early on Thursday, police said.

Passengers were asleep on the ferry when it hit the wreck of a cargo ship that sank a few days ago in Sarail, 90 kilometres (55 miles) from Dhaka, local police officer Chandan Kumar said.

“So far we've found 17 bodies,” Kumar told AFP by phone from the site of the accident, adding that the death toll would rise as divers continued with the recovery operation. “There are more bodies trapped in the ferry. The divers are bringing them up now,” he said.

Brahminbaria district administrator Abdul Mannan said that he expected the toll to rise in the coming hours.

“More will come out. One body was pulled out now while I was talking to you,” he told AFP by phone.

At least 60 passengers on the overloaded double-decker ferry swam to shore, police said, adding that the total number of passengers on the boat was not known.

Thousands of local residents gathered on the banks of the river near the scene of the accident to watch as the search effort got underway.

Boat accidents due to lax safety standards and overloading are common in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by 230 rivers.