A man and his wife jumped into the swirling waters of the Sugandha river in a last-ditch attempt to save themselves from the fire that had engulfed the three-storey ferry they were travelling in early on Friday, only to survive under miraculous circumstances, though the wife broke her leg in the process, according to a media report.

At least 40 people died and over 70 others were injured on Friday after a packed ferry carrying around 800 passengers caught fire on the Sugandha River in southern Bangladesh, officials said.

Hossain Mohammad Al-Mujahid, an executive officer hailing from Patharghata Upazila, was jolted from his slumber in the wee hours on Friday by screams from passengers and smoke billowing from the vessel, a bdnews24.com report said.

Hossain and his wife Ummul Wara were travelling in the VIP cabin of the ferry.

Realising that they had no other means to escape, the two jumped into the Sugandha River, the report said.

After smoke covered the entire ferry, we rushed out of the cabin and moved to the front of the launch. More than 100 people gathered there. The ferry was in the middle of the river. Many passengers were seen jumping into the river, Hossain was quoted as saying in the report.

We also jumped off the burning ferry. I fell straight into the water, while Ummul Wara rammed into the railing first, and then fell into the water. She broke her right leg, he said.

Wara was later treated in a local hospital before the couple headed home to Patharghata.

The elderly and children accounted for most of the victims. Many women jumped into the river but it was not confirmed if all of them could make it to the shore, Hossain said.

Passengers who were sleeping and stayed inside the cabins suffered more, he said, adding the locals took them to the Jhalakathi Sadar Hospital.

The fire broke out around 3:00 am (local time) on Friday in the engine room of the Barguna-bound MV Abhijan-10 ferry that started a journey from Dhaka, police and fire service officials said, adding that scores of other passengers were missing.

Officials familiar with the rescue campaign said 40 people were killed in the blaze, including nine being drowned, but some private television channels, quoting officials, reported 41 deaths from the accident in southern Jhalakathi district, 250 kilometers from the capital Dhaka.

"The rescue efforts are still underway, we can update you about the casualties later," a district administration official told reporters.

Coastguard, fire service and police personnel are spearheading a search campaign covering rivers in three downstream districts.

The accident took place at the confluence of rivers as a huge number of people crowded on the river banks and hospitals to find their relatives.