Islamabad: Pakistan has expressed condolence over the loss of 38 precious lives in a ferry fire incident in Jhalakathi district in Bangladesh.

In a statement issued here on Friday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said the government and people of Pakistan are deeply saddened by the loss of precious lives in the incident.

According to reports, at least 38 people died and around hundred injured in the incident of a ferry fire in the southern rural town of Jhalokathi on the Sugandha River on Friday.

The incident occurred when a ferry packed with 5oo passengers returning to their homes from capital Dhaka caught fire mid-river. Most deaths were caused by fire while a few people were drowned when they jumped in the river to avoid fire.