At least of 25 people drowned and about 100 were missing as a launch with over 300 passengers sank in the Meghna near Bhola yesterday morning.

The Bhola district administration told The Daily Star last night that bodies of 25 people including five children and seven women were recovered till the evening, when high tide forced postponement of rescue operation.

Our Barisal Correspondent Aroop Talukdar reported that 11 of the 25 bodies were identified till the filing of this report. They are Safura Bibi. 60. Sha-hanur Begum. 30, Sumon, 5. Sidu Mian. 31. Aklima, 5. Je-bunnisa. 45, Surma. 9. Bibi Fatema. 20. Azimunnisa. 40. Salahuddin , 20. and Rafiq . 28. The bodies were kept at Daulatkhan thana.

The launch. ML Falguni.

sank in the mid-stream at Ma-jherchar as it reportedly hit a hidden shoal while negotiating high waves raised by a passing oil tanker.

The launch which left Char Alexanader in Laxmipur for Daulatkhan in Bhola at about 7 am, was carrying passengers double its capacity, the district administration said.

Nearly 200 passengers swam ashore. Some were rescued by fishermen and another passenger launch which was crossing the area when ML Falguni was sinking.

S T Barnali. a rescue ship of police, also took part in the day-long rescue operation, Magistrate Gullal Singha said over telephone from a control room opened at Bhola DCs office after the disaster. The 25 bodies were recovered by local people and fishing boats.

Hundreds of people including relatives of those missing were seen on both banks of Meghna at the disaster site and at Daulatkhan thana till last night in search of the victims.

The magistrate said the top of the sunken launch could be seen till about 4 pm. but it disappeared .later in high tide, making rescue operation impossible.

BIWTA Chairman Abdul Karim, when contacted last night, said salvage ship ML Hamja left Barisal for Majher-char yesterday evening and it will begin operation this morning to salvage the launch.

" This launch (ML Falguni) did not have any route permit and the route in which the launch sank is not a classified ' route”, he said in Dhaka.