The salvage operation of RoRo ferry Amanat Shah which flipped onto its side and sank in the Padma River at Paturia ferry terminal in Manikganj resumed Thursday morning after a 12-hour break.
The salvage vessel Hamza has so far recovered two covered vans since it started the rescue operation at around 8:15am.
SM Sanwar Hossain, commander of Hamza, told Bangla Tribune that a covered van was recovered at around 11:30am and then another one at around 1:30pm.
There were still a few more sunken trucks waiting to be salvaged besides the ferry itself, he added.
Another salvage vessel, Prottoy, is on its way to the terminal, said Mohammad Shajahan, director of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority's (BIWTA) maritime conservation and management department.
However, he expressed doubt about the rescue work as the ferry is too heavy even for the two savage vessels combined. Currently, Hamza is only rescuing the vehicles stuck inside the half-submerged ferry.
Loaded with at least 17 heavy vehicles -- mostly trucks and more than a dozen motorbikes, the ferry tilted on its side on Wednesday morning and sank soon after it docked at Terminal No 5, officials said.
It was on its way to Aricha from Rajbari’s Daulatdia ghat when it sank at Paturia.
Most of the passengers managed to swim to shore and no casualties have been reported yet.
The ferry had been carrying 17 heavy vehicles and at least 16 motorcycles, and only three vehicles had been unloaded when the vessel capsized, according to witnesses.
Meanwhile, BIWTC has formed a seven-member probe committee to investigate the incident.
