Dhaka (Bangladesh) | Jagran News Desk: At least 37 people lost their lives after a "packed" ferry caught fire in Bangladesh's Jhakakathi which is 250 km south of the capital city of Dhaka. The death toll, as per the local officials, is expected to rise as more than 50 people are admitted to hospital, noting that many of them are in critical condition.

They also said that the incident happened after midnight, adding that the ferry was heading to the southern district of Barguna from the capital Dhaka via Jhalakathi district.

"The three-storey Obhijan 10 caught fire mid-river. We have recovered 32 bodies. The death count may rise. Most died from the fire and a few by drowning after they jumped into the river," international news agency AFP quoted local police chief Moinul Islam as saying. "We have sent some 100 people with burn injuries to hospitals in Barisal."

Witnesses said the fire originated at around 3:00 am (2100 GMT) and quickly spread. "We were sleeping on a mat on the ground floor deck. All the passengers were sleeping. My nine-year-old grandson, Nayeem, was with me, he jumped into the river. I don't know what happened to him," said an elderly grandmother, as reported by AFP.

Other survivors said they saw a small fire in the engine room as soon as the packed ferry set off from the Sadarghat river station in Dhaka at 9:00 pm on Thursday. "A lot of people ran for safety as the fire spread. A lot of people could not get out of their cabins where they were sleeping. Many jumped into the river," said another survivor at Barisal Medical College Hospital, as reported by AFP.

The accident was the latest in a string of similar incidents in the low-lying delta country criss-crossed by rivers. Experts in the country of 170 million people blame poor maintenance, lax safety standards at shipyards and overcrowding. In April this year, 26 people had lost their lives after a ferry carrying around 50 passengers collided with a cargo vessel and sank in the Shitalakhsya River south of Dhaka.

Narayanganj district administrator Mustain Billah told Reuters that the ferry sank just after it departed from the industrial Narayanganj district about 20 kms (12 mies) from Dhaka, to Munshiganj. "Most of the bodies were found inside the sunken boat after it was dragged to the bank," he had said.