A ferry sank in Bangladesh in the early hours of Tuesday morning killing at least 26 people and more than 100 people went missing, officials said, adding that 35 survivors had been found

A ferry sank in Bangladesh in the early hours of Tuesday morning killing at least 26 people and more than 100 people went missing, officials said, adding that 35 survivors had been found.
  
Rescue workers began recovering bodies from inside the double-decker Shariatpur 1 ferry, which was hit by another vessel in the middle of the Meghna river just southeast of the capital Dhaka.
  
"Divers have recovered 26 dead bodies from the sunken vessel including five women and two children," local deputy police chief Tariqul Islam told AFP by telephone, adding the death toll was likely to rise.  

Local police Chief Shahidul Islam added that 35 passengers had been rescued by another ferry soon after the accident. Coastguards, fire brigade and police rescue workers were also rushed to the scene.

Mahbubul Alam, secretary of the Inland Water Transport Authority, said the vessel, which was built in 1991, appeared to have sunk rapidly after the collision. "We talked to a rescued passenger. He told us that the vessel sank with a loud noise in minutes after it hit the other vessel, giving most passengers no chance to swim to safety," he said. An investigation has been ordered, he added.