For many relatives there was no news of their loved ones

A total of 61 bodies have now been recovered - around 100 people are still thought missing.

Officials fear dozens more bodies may have been washed downstream, but say it is impossible to know how many died.

Ferry accidents are commonplace at this time of year, when normally quiet rivers can become torrents due to sudden storms.

Grieving relatives

Police said that rescuers found more than 30 bodies trapped inside the double-decker ferry, the Lighting Sun, when it was finally salvaged.

Rescuers have alerted river authorities south of the accident to be on the look-out for bodies which may be floating downstream.

The search operation ended on Monday as thousands of grieving relatives lined the banks of the River Meghna in the hope of hearing news about their loved ones.

Although 50 people were rescued or swam to safety it is feared that many more have been killed.

"It is impossible to say exactly how many people died," said an official at the scene of the accident in Chandpur district, about 170km (105 miles) south of the capital, Dhaka.

Like many other ferries in Bangladesh, officials say the double-decker vessel had no passenger list.

Survivors recounted scenes of panic and screaming as the MV Lighting Sun sank early on Sunday morning. Many passengers were asleep at the time.

Rescue operations were hampered by strong winds and heavy rain. A government rescue vessel only managed to reach the site of the accident some 12 hours after it happened.

The BBC's Waliur Rahman in Dhaka says that Sunday's seasonal storm also caused the five other vessels to capsize.

Among them was another passenger ferry on the same river with around 30 people on board: all are still unaccounted for.

The government has banned night sailing by small ferries and issued warnings not to take excess cargo or passengers following several ferry accidents last year.