“We have so far recovered 23 bodies from the ferry in the accident,” Bangladesh fire brigade official Enayet Hossain told AFP.

“There were 50 people on board… Our rescue divers are still searching,” she said.

The Morning Bird vessel was hit by another ferry at Farashganj, just meters (yards) from the country’s largest river port Sadarghat.

Several witnesses told local television stations that the boat was carrying more than 50 people, with many stuck in cabins.

Ferry accidents are common in Bangladesh due to poor safety standards in the country’s many shipyards. The ferries are often overcrowded and sink in bad weather.