Bangladeshi barge sinks in West Bengal river

A Bangladeshi barge carrying fly ash sank in a river in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district today after hitting a submerged pontoon jetty damaged by cyclone Amphan.

All the 12 crew members of the barge, 'MV Prianka', have been rescued by the local administration after receiving an SOS call from the vessel, said officials of Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).

The incident took place early in the morning in Hatania-Donia river in Namkhana, our new Delhi correspondent reports.

The left side of the barge is fully submerged in the river, the IWAI officials said.

"The barge MV Prianka was carrying a cargo load of about 800-900 tonnes of fly ash from West Bengal's Budge Budge jetty to Bangladesh," a barge operator told PTI.