Indian rescue teams hunted for bodies in the Brahmaputra River Tuesday after a sinking ferry left at least 105 dead, with more corpses feared to have been washed downstream toward Bangladesh.

The vessel split in two while navigating the fast-flowing river in India's northeastern state of Assam, and police said about 100 passengers were still missing.

Despite an operating capacity of 225, some 350 people were believed to be on the two-deck boat when it broke up mid-stream during torrential, pre-monsoon rains.

The boat sank near the riverside town of Dhubri, about 25 kilometers from the border with Bangladesh.

"I appeal to Bangladesh to help us in retrieving any dead bodies or survivors who could have reached their territory," Assam state chief minister Tarun Gogoi told reporters, saying a formal request had been made to the Dhaka government. Gogoi added that an inquiry would be launched, but rescue efforts remained the priority.

Police said 105 bodies had been counted and some 150 people were rescued or swam to safety, adding that the ferry carried no lifeboats or lifebelts and the chances of picking up more survivors were remote.

Two helicopters scoured the river from above as soldiers and police officers reinforced divers and rescue teams working in rubber dinghies, but rain and dangerous water conditions restricted the search operation.

"The weather is inclement and the river is rough so the rescue efforts are being hampered," state police chief J.N. Choudhury told AFP. No further bodies were recovered Tuesday. Some officials said the ferry had broken up after hitting concrete pillars built in the water.

Bangladesh confirmed it was checking the river, but had yet to find any bodies. "Troops at our border posts have stopped their normal work. A lot of civilians are also helping in the search," Bangladesh Colonel Neamul Islam Fatemi told AFP by phone from the border.

Taleb Ali, a 35-year-old villager who survived the sinking, said passengers had begged the skipper to anchor the ferry at a sandbar when the storm hit mid-stream, but he refused.

"Then the storm became more intense and the boat split into two parts before sinking," Ali told the local News Live television channel.

The bodies of the victims were being kept at a local hospital.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the sinking a "tragedy" and announced compensation would be paid to the victims' families.

AFP