Dhaka - A river ferry with an estimated 200 farm workers on board sunk in central Bangladesh after it was caught in a tropical storm, leaving at least 42 people dead, local officials and witnesses said on Tuesday.

Some 50 passengers went missing in the overnight mishap which occurred on the Ghorautra river near the town of Kishoreganj, 230 kilometres east of the capital Dhaka, assistant police chief Asad uz Zaman said from the scene of the accident.

Many passengers managed to swim to shore on their own while several others were picked up by passing boats, witnesses said.

Police rescuers backed by local civilian volunteers recovered the bodies of the dead passengers from the water. Hospital sources said the death toll could rise as many people were still unaccounted for.

Zaman said a search and rescue peration was going on amid fears that many bodies were washed away by the river current.

The ferry was an old and crumbling fishing trawler and Zaman said the reconverted boat was unsuited to carry passengers because of its defective design. (dpa)