Dhaka, March 26 -- A day after a bus plunged into the river at Daulatdia Ferry Terminal, silence and sorrow have settled over four Kushtia villages, where grieving families buried their loved ones, including two children.

The air in Mojompur, Khagrabaria, Dhushundu, and Somospur was thick with the cries of relatives on Thursday.

The death toll from the accident rose to 26.

The Khoksa Upazila was hit hardest, losing three residents in the disaster.

Among them were 3-year-old Israfil, identified with a single name, and 13-year-old Ayesha Siddika..

In Khagrabaria of Khoksa Upazila, the family of Rajib Biswas, 28, performed his last rites in a somber ceremony.

The sight of the children's small caskets drew hundreds of villagers, many of...