The ferry was heading to Paturia from Daulatdia in Rajbari when it was hit by a cargo trawler, a senior police official of Manikganj district said.  The site is 40 km northwest from Dhaka.

At least 41 people were killed in the incident,Rakibuzzaman, the officer-in-charge (OC) of Shibaloy Police Station, was cited by The Daily Tribune in its report.

There were conflicting reports as to how many people were travelling in the ferry, with some media outlets putting it at 200 while others put the figure between 100 and 150.

The identities of the deceased were not immediately known but they included many women and children.

The Daily Star reported six children and 11 women were among those killed, including a six-month-old girl, who after being rescued from the Padma in which the ferry sank was later declared dead at the hospital.

The death toll is expected to rise.

The latest maritime tragedy is Bangladesh’s deadliest since August 2014 when around 130 people were killed after a ferry sank in a river.

A survivor, who was near the edge of the ferry before it sank, said the people in the cabin did not get a chance to escape.

Many passengers were rescued by nearby boats and a joint salvage operation by naval authorities, including the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), is still underway.

At least 60 people were rescued, according to the report.

The master of the cargo vehicle Nargis-1 and his assistant was detained on the charges of hitting the ferry.  Their cargo trawler was also seized.