At least 40 dead and 160 missing after storm splits passenger ferry in two

About 40 people were dead and 160 missing after an overcrowded passenger ferry with 350 people aboard split into two and sank in a river in north-east India in a storm.

“There were about 350 people on board when a storm split the steamer into two and so far we have recovered about 40 bodies and an estimated 150 people were either rescued or swam to safety,” Assam police chief JN Choudhury said.

The double-decker ferry sank in the fast-flowing Brahmaputra river in Assam state. Indian state-owned broadcaster Doordarshan said more than 100 people were feared killed. Witnesses said they saw victims being swept away by the river’s strong currents.