DHAKA: A ferry carrying about 100 people capsized after colliding with a sand-laden boat on Bangladesh's giant Meghna river today leaving at least two people dead and scores missing , officials said.

The ferry sank in the Meghna river this morning after a sand-laden boat hit the vessel 'MV SM Sarash' carrying around 100 passengers was on its way to Chandpur from Narayanganj, officials said.

Officials and police said about half the passengers managed to swim ashore or were rescued by nearby fishing boats while searches were underway for the missing as Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority officials said they had located the wreck of the sunken vessel at the midpoint of the Meghna River in Gazaria area of Munshiganj.

"Bodies of a minor boy and a 15-year-old girl could so far be retrieved but rescue operation is underway with fire service divers and local volunteers searching for more bodies," deputy commissioner of Munshiganj Mohamad Saiful Islam Badal told PTI.

He however, said some 30 people could be missing as others swam to safety or were rescued.

"Our salvage vessel Rustom located the sunken ferry. Bodies believed to be trapped inside it could be recovered after it is retrieved," a BIWTA official said.

Witnesses said the ferry was carrying passengers from the capital Dhaka to the southeastern district of Chandpur when the accident took place.

Hundreds of distraught relatives gathered on both sides of the river , anxiously waiting to know the fate of their loved ones while one of the survivors said the missing people included an extended family of 17 who were going to join a relative's funeral.

Ferry accidents are frequent in Bangladesh, criss-crossed by nearly 300 rivers.

In March, 2011, 147 people were killed when a passenger vessel sank in the Meghna river after colliding with a cargo ship.

In December, 2009, 46 people drowned in Daira river in northeastern district of Kishorganj after a ferry capsized and sank.