Dhaka - At least one person drowned and as many as 80 went missing Thursday when a passenger ferry capsized in a Bangladeshi river near the southern district of Barisal, officials said.

The boat carrying more than 100 passengers sunk in the middle of the Kirtankhola River near Beltala, 277 kilometres south of Dhaka, when a sand-laden cargo vessel hit the back of the ferry, Rafiqul Islam, a port officer, said, quoting witnesses.

The passenger vessel, ML Happy, was on its way to Patarhat from Barisal port when the accident occurred.

Rescuers recovered a body from the river. A small number of passengers managed to swim ashore, but most remained missing. The number of missing was as high as 80, the officials at the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority said.

Divers started rescue operations hours after the accident and had located the position of the sunken vessel.

Ferry accidents are frequent in Bangladesh, a Ganges Delta country crisscrossed by thousands of rivers and their tributaries, because of a lack of monitoring of safety standards and lax application of existing laws. (dpa)