The death toll following the sinking of a crowded ferry in southern Bangladesh on Friday has risen to 75. Dozens of people are still missing.

The M.V. Coco-4, a three-deck vessel, capsized on Friday evening in a river in the coastal Bhola district. Some 1500 passengers were crowded onto the ferry, about three times the legal limit.

Eyewitnesses say the boat hit a raised section of the river bed. It started to list when panicking passengers moved en masse to one side of the vessel in an attempt to escape.

Hundreds of people die each year as a result of ferry accidents in Bangladesh. These are often caused by poor navigation and overcrowding on board.

photo: Bangladeshi ferry (flickr/Kirakar)