The body of a nine-year-old girl was recovered from the Kaliganga River in Pirojpur after an overloaded trawler sank in the Nazirpur upazila on Monday night, while her 35-year-old mother remained missing.

The deceased was identified as Arpita Bepari, daughter of Shankar Bepari of Bharatkathi village in Nesarabad upazila, while her mother Marina Bepari remained missing.

The trawler capsized near the Shriramkathi-Bharatkathi ferry terminal on the border between Nazirpur and Nesarabad upazilas around 9:00pm on Monday, shortly after leaving the ghat, reportedly losing balance under the weight of excessive passengers and cargo.

Witnesses said the trawler departed from the Nazirpur side for the Bharatkathi ferry terminal carrying more than 50 passengers and six motorcycles.

Most of the passengers managed to swim ashore or were rescued by local residents.

However, Marina and her daughter went missing.

Shankar Bepari and his family visited their village during the Durga Puja holidays and were returning home by trawler after attending a puja programme in the Shriramkathi area.

On receiving information, joint rescue teams from the fire service and police rushed to the scene.

Following two rounds of search operations, divers from the Pirojpur Fire Service recovered Arpita's body from the river at night, but her mother remained missing.

Nazirpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sajia Sahnaj Tama, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md Ahsan Habib and Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Nasrin Jahan visited the accident site.

Nazirpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Tariqul Islam said the Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Coast Guard were also making efforts to locate the missing woman.