At least 23 people were killed while several dozen more were missing after a boat capsized in a river in northern Bangladesh Sunday, in the latest waterways tragedy to hit the country.

"We have recovered 23 bodies. Firefighters and divers are searching for more bodies," local police official Shafiqul Islam told the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The boat was packed with up to 50 Hindu pilgrims, police said.

They were traveling to a centuries-old temple when the vessel suddenly tipped over and sank in the middle of the Karotoa river near the town of Boda in northern Bangladesh.

Another police officer said up to 25 people were still missing.

Local media said at least 10 people were rescued and sent to the hospital.

Islam said he did not know the exact number of people missing, but passengers said more than 70 people had been on board.

The bodies recovered so far included women and children, said Jahurul Islam, district administrator of northern Panchagarh, where the accident occurred.

"The rescue operation for those missing is ongoing," he said.

Thousands of Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh visit the Bodeshwari Temple every year.

Sunday marked the start of the Durga Puja, the biggest Hindu festival in Bangladesh – and also eastern India – drawing large crowds to the temple.

Hundreds of people die each year in ferry accidents in Bangladesh, a low-lying country that has extensive inland waterways but lax safety standards.

At least 26 died in May after an overcrowded speedboat collided with a sand-laden bulk carrier and sank on the Padma River.

In June 2021, A ferry sank in Dhaka after a collision with another vessel, killing at least 32 people.