At least six people, five of them children, were missing after a boat capsized in the Yamuna at Kutubpur Patia village in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district on Wednesday.
“Efforts are under way to locate the missing,” said Mrigank Shekhar Pathak, the Hamirpur superintendent of police, who was at the scene 32 kilometres from the district headquarters.
Taking cognisance of the incident, chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed senior officials of the police and administration to rush to the site and ensure that relief and rescue operations are carried out on a war footing, said a press statement issued by state government on Wednesday.
The chief minister stated that those missing must be located as soon as possible. Senior district officials must personally supervise the rescue operations and ensure that every possible form of relief is provided to the victims, he said.
He directed the district administration to investigate the causes of the accident and implement concrete measures to prevent such tragedies in the future.
The victims were wedding guests returning from a river island when the boat, described as old, small and overloaded, lost balance midstream and sank around 7pm. It was carrying about 10 people, most of them children aged between 5 and 11.
Four people – Vishnu, Rinku, Parul and one other – managed to swim to safety, according to reports.
The wedding had taken place at the home of Raju Nishad the previous day. After the bride’s departure, relatives went to the island to eat melons from Raju’s vegetable garden. The boat capsized during the return journey. By the time news reached the village, darkness had set in, hampering search efforts.
A 14-year-old boy, Dhiru, who saw the boat capsize, jumped into the river and pulled out two children. He has not spoken since.
The initial assessment is that the accident happened when the boatman, identified as Vishnu, was talking to someone on the phone. During this time, the boat became unbalanced and sank. After the incident, Vishnu swam to safety.
The Kurara police, district administration teams and SDRF teams have been deployed. Divers are continuing search operations in the river.
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