A search operation is underway after a ferry carrying some 200 passengers sank on Monday in the middle of a river in Bangladesh's central Munshiganj district, police said.

"The ferry Pinak-6, carrying some 200 passengers, capsized in Padma river at around 11:15 a.m. local time," the district's acting Police Chief Mohammad Zakir Hossain told Xinhua over phone.

He said a rescue vessel has been called in to boost local efforts to salvage the ferry.

Hossain said many passengers were able to swim ashore after the accident but the exact number of missing passengers could not be immediately verified.

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.

Ferry disasters are common in Bangladesh, where ferry is still a key means of transport.

The ferry services in Bangladesh do not maintain lists of passengers and no one can say exactly how many passengers a ferry carries. Most of the ferries are overcrowded.

At least 112 bodies were recovered after a ferry capsized in Munshiganj district in March 2012.

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