At least 39 people were killed on Friday after a packed ferry travelling from Dhaka to Barguna went up in flames in southern Bangladesh.
“The three-storey MV Obhijan 10 caught fire in the middle of the river," local police chief Moinul Islam told the media.
"We have recovered 32 bodies. The death toll may rise. Most of the people died from the fire and a few by drowning after they jumped into the river,” he added.
The incident occurred early in the morning near the southern rural town of Jhakakathi, 250km from the capital Dhaka, AFP news agency reported.
The accident is the latest in a string of similar disasters to have occurred in the low-lying delta country which is criss-crossed by rivers.
More than 70 people have died in three major maritime disasters in Bangladesh since April.
On 4 April, 34 people were killed after a ferry carrying 50 passengers collided with a cargo vessel, and on 3 May a speedboat crashed into a sand-laden bulk carrier causing the death of at least 26 people.
Experts in the south Asian country of 170 million people blame the accidents on poor maintenance, lax safety standards at shipyards, and overcrowding.