Dhaka: Two school students drowned in the Buriganga river as a boat capsized while crossing the river at Sadarghat in the city on Monday.

The deceased are Sanjida Aktar, 14, daughter of Shahin Mia of Kaliganj in Keraniganj and Swapna Akter, 15, daughter of Abdur Rahman of Dhaleshwari village in Patuakhali.

Inspector Sheikh Md Abdur Razzak of Sadarghat river police said the girls were returning to their home after buying some books from Sadarghat.

A small passenger boat carrying eight people including the duo capsized in the river due to the bow wave of BIWTC ship ‘MV Bangali’ in the evening, he said.

The rest of the passengers managed to swim ashore while the girls remained missing, he added.

After hours of searching, divers from local Fire Service and Civil Defence station recovered the bodies and handed over to Dakshin Khan Police Station, said Monirul Islam, officer-in-charge of the police station.