A river ferry carrying about 250 passengers capsized during a storm in eastern Bangladesh early Sunday, police said, and dozens of people were feared dead.  

Many of the passengers were asleep when the accident occurred and were believed to be trapped inside the double-decker ferry, said Mohammad Dulal Miah, a police officer at the scene.

About 50 people swam to shore and some were rescued from inside the vessel. Several bodies had also been found.

"Even though the ferry sank close to shore, the river is turbulent here and it is hampering the rescue work," Miah said.

The ferry went down in the Meghna River about 40 miles southeast of the capital, Dhaka.

Ferry accidents are common in this South Asian nation, which is crisscrossed by rivers. A ferry capsized in the same area during a storm in July, killing more than 500 people.

(China Daily via agencies, May 24, 2004)