Boat in Bangladesh sinks, at least twelve dead

June 9, 2010 A boat in Bangladesh sank in a river in the northeastern part of the country earlier today, killing at least a dozen people &mdash; including some children &mdash; reports say.

The incident occurred in the district of Sunamgonj, about from the capital of. The Chinese news service Xinhua reports that the bodies from the ship have been recovered. Government official Babul Miah said the boat was making a trip between villages three kilometres apart. He noted that six of the dead were girls headed to school.

At least two dozen other people, however, managed to swim to safety or were rescued after the boat's sinking. The cause of the accident hasn't yet been ascertained. An official said that 60–70 people were on board.

Nine people are still reported as missing, and according to Miah, searches are underway for them.