A ferry with more than 500 passengers erupted in flames on a river in Bangladesh, leaving at least 32 people dead and 100 injured, say reports.
The horrifying inferno happened at about 3 am on Friday, according to Bangladesh newspaper The Daily Star.
Terrifying footage posted online appeared to show flames pour out of the large vessel's windows as a crowd of onlookers watched the blaze.
A police chief said that many of the victims died in the fire but some drowned as they jumped off and tried to flee the blaze.
The ferry, said to be the MV Abhijan-10, caught fire while out on the Sugandha river in Jhalokati District.
Local reports say that at least 30 bodies had been recovered and one TV journalist claimed the death toll was at 32 with 100 people injured.
Rescue efforts are said to be continuing at the site of the disaster and the death toll is expected to rise.
It had been traveling through a river in Bangladesh's Jhalokati district about 200 km south of the capital Dhaka.
Local police chief Moinul Islam told AFP that the death count may continue to rise, saying: "The three-storey Obhijan 10 caught fire mid-river.
"We have recovered 32 bodies. The death count may rise. Most died from the fire and a few by drowning after they jumped into the river."
He said the fire was believed to have started in the engine room before it tore through the ferry packed with people who were returning home from Dhaka.
"We have sent some 100 people with burn injuries to the hospitals in Barisal," he said.
The exact death toll is yet to be confirmed by officials.
