Bangladesh navy divers used metal detectors today in a vain effort to locate a river ferry that was sucked into a whirlpool nearly three days ago, killing most of the hundreds of people on board.
Rescuers and villagers have so far retrieved nearly 60 bodies from the Meghna river, which flows into the Bay of Bengal through Chandpur, where the ferry sank. More than 300 people are still missing.
Officials said they held little hope of finding more survivors.
"Whatever would be the outcome, we will continue the search at least for two more days," said Mr Abdur Rab Hawlader, administrator of Chandpur district.
He said authorities had called in more navy vessels with "superior equipment" to try to find the triple-decker MV Nasreen, which was believed to be under 60 metres of water in the rain-swollen river and could have been dragged downstream by strong currents.
"We are just hoping against hope of finding and salvaging the ferry," said Mr Faizur Rahman Kahndoker, a senior rescue official, as navy divers tried to find the ferry using metal detectors.
"But there is no luck yet," he added. "We are not certain where the vessel is and if it has moved away from the spot of sinking. Fierce underwater currents and the uneven river bed have made it more difficult."
The ferry sank a little before midnight on Tuesday when many passengers were sleeping. More than 600 people were aboard the vessel, licensed to carry only 300, when it nose-dived into the river near the town of Chandpur, 170 km southeast of the capital Dhaka.
Only about 200 people managed to reach the shore or were rescued by fishing boats, police and witnesses said. Heavy monsoon rains and strong winds have hampered the search.