Barisal: The death toll from Barisal ferry capsize in the River Shandhya in Banaripara upazila climbed to 26 with the recovery of three more bodies on Friday.

The bodies were recovered in several rescue operations in the morning.

The deceased are Monowara Begum, aged around 45 years, of Banaripara, Alpana Rani, of Ujirpur, and 8-year-old Jidan.

Meanwhile, two people are still missing in the incident.

The sunken ferry, Oishi Plus, was salvaged on Thursday morning, nearly 21 hours after it capsized in the Sandhya River on Wednesday morning.

Earlier, nine bodies were recovered on Thursday.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) rescue vessel ‘Nirvik’ salvaged the sunken ferry around 8:45 am which was located some 60 feet beneath the water.

The bodies of the four children— Sakhwan, Rafi, Riyad, and Maisa— were recovered from inside the ferry in the morning while divers fished out the body of Maria, 7, from near the spot around 5:45pm and that of Hamid and Ruhul from Nalsi area around 6:50pm and 8:30pm respectively.

The body of Khuku Moni was recovered from Khejurbari and that of the unidentified man from the spot at night, the OC said.

The Wazirpur-bound ferry with 50-60 passengers on board sank in the river in Banaripara upazila as a heavy chunk of mud from the erosion site on the riverbank fell on the vessel just after it reached Dasherhat Ferry Terminal at about 11:15am on Wednesday.

Divers retrieved 13 bodies from the river while another victim died at a hospital on Wednesday.