A motorised boat with about 40 passengers overturned in the river in stormy weather at around 4:00pm when it was sailing towards Hossainpur and Tahirpur villages from Balaganj, locals said.

Bashanti Rani Sutradhar, 35, wife of Prabindra Sutradhar of Zahirpur village under Rajnagar upazila of Moulvibazar, her daughters Jolly Sutradhar, 7, and seven-month-old Bashanti and their distant relative Prafullabala Sutradhar, 90, drowned in the water. However, other passengers swam ashore, they added.

Locals recovered the bodies of Bashanti, Jolly and Prafullabala, but the seven-month-old girl's body was yet to be traced till 6:00pm, police said.

The family went to Balaganj upazila headquarters to consult a physician there, police added.