Four persons are missing after a boat capsized in the Ganga river in Patna on Sunday morning. The boat was said to be carrying about 25 people. It overturned mid-stream in the river during the Ganga Dussehra festival.
Out of about 25 passengers, 17 persons were from the same family from the Malti village of Nalanda district. Rescue efforts began soon after the incident, and 13 persons have been rescued successfully.
On the direction of Patna District Magistrate Shrishat Kapil Ashok, 12 members of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and 30 members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are involved in the efforts to find the missing persons.
According to the District Magistrate’s office, the missing persons are three men, Avadesh Kumar (60), Hadev Prasad (65), and Nitish Kumar (30), and a woman, identified as wife of the late Vijay Prasad.
The incident took place at Umanghat in Barh, where a large number of people had gathered to bathe on the banks of the Ganga during the Ganga Dussehra festival. Many pilgrims hired local boats to go to the other side of the river, where the water is considered to be comparatively cleaner.
“Of the same family, 13 people have been rescued, and four are missing. SDRF and NDRF teams are searching for the missing people. How the boat was carrying so many people is a matter of investigation because there are rules regarding the load. Strict action will be taken in accordance with the law. However, our first priority is to find the missing people. We are also using divers to find them,” Mr. Ashok, who visited the incident spot and directed officials on the ground, said.
“The boat was carrying about 25 people. A few of them swam when it turned but many drowned. After some time, the SDRF team reached the spot and started the rescue work. The boat overturned because it was carrying more people than its capacity,” eyewitness Manoj Kumar said.
