DHAKA - A ferry carrying about 100 passengers capsized in a river in eastern Bangladesh on Thursday, leaving at least seven people dead, a police official said.

Local police chief Jamil Ahmed said they feared dozens were missing after the accident in the River Meghna in Brahmanbaria, 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of the capital, Dhaka.

Seven bodies were recovered from the river and divers were called in as part of a rescue operation, Ahmed said.

He said many passengers were able to swim ashore after the accident, but the number of missing was unclear.

He said the ferry apparently hit the wreckage of another cargo ferry that sunk a few days ago.