DHAKA, May 15 -- A search operation is under way after a ferry carrying hundreds of passengers sank on Thursday in the middle of a river due to storm and heavy rainfall in Bangladesh's central Munshiganj district, some 27 km from capital Dhaka, officials said.

The ferry, carrying 250 to 300 passengers, capsized in Meghna river after it was hit by nor'wester (a type of storm in Bangladesh), Ferdous Hossain, officer-in-charge of Gajaria Police Station in Munsihganj district told Xinhua over phone.

He said a rescue vessel has been called in to boost local efforts to salvage the ferry.

Hossain said many passengers were able to swim ashore after the accident at about 3: p.m. local time but could not tell immediately about the exact number of the missing passengers.

The ferry services in Bangladesh never maintain list of passengers and none can exactly say how many passengers a ferry carries.

Ferry disasters are common in Bangladesh with about 250 rivers. Ferry is still a key means of transport in the country. Most of them are often overcrowded.

At least 112 bodies were recovered after a ferry capsized in Munshiganj district in March 2012.