MV ''Coco-4'' was a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

that sunk near

Bhola Island Bhola Island (also called Dakhin Shahbazpur) is the largest island of Bangladesh with an area of and a coastline of . It accounts for most of the land area of Bhola District in Barisal Division. Geography It is situated at the mouth of the M ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

on 27 November 2009, killing 75 people, out of more than a thousand on board, with several dozen more reported missing.

History

The ferry sank on 28 November 2009 near Bhola Island. The ferry was overcrowded with people heading home before Eid. On 29 November, salvage ship M. V. Hamza raised the ferry, giving rescuers access to additional bodies on the lower decks of the ship. During these operations, rescuers were met by angry crowds upset at delays in rescue operations. According to a survivor, "The ferry sank just before midnight Friday, but rescuers did not arrive until the morning." It is still unclear what caused the ferry to sink, but a current theory states that it tipped to one side as a

stampede A stampede () is a situation in which a group of large animals suddenly start running in the same direction, especially because they are excited or frightened. Although the term is most often applied to animals, there are cases of humans stamped ...

occurred on board as the ferry approached dock. Shipping Minister

Shajahan Khan Shajahan Khan (born 1 January 1952) is a Bangladeshi politician and a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Madaripur-2 constituency for 8 terms until during 1986–2024. He served as the minister of shipping during 2009–2019. He was a ...

told news agencies that "Officials had locked the ferry's exit gate as it approached the shore to find out whether anyone was travelling without a ticket. This triggered a stampede, causing the boat to tip."

History

References

Further reading