Amravati: Four drown, seven missing after boat capsizes in river
Four people drowned and at least seven others were missing after their boat capsized in the Wardha river in Maharashtra's Amravati district on Tuesday, police said. Two other boat occupants swam to safety, the police further said. The incident took place at around 10:30 am in the Warud tehsil under the jurisdiction of Benoda Police Station.
Boat was reportedly unable to sustain the weight of occupants
"The incident took place when 12 members of some families from Gadegaon village along with the boatman were on way to a temple after visiting a waterfall," an official said. "Prima facie, it appears that the boat was unable to sustain the weight of its occupants," he said. The victims had come to Zunj in Warud tehsil for a relative's post-death rituals on Monday.
Two of the boat's male occupants swam to safety: Police
"On Tuesday morning, they all got on to the boat to visit a temple. However, the vessel capsized in the middle of the river," the official said. "Two of its male occupants, aged 27 and 35, swam to safety," he said. "Teams of the police and district disaster management authority have so far been able to fish out four bodies," the police said.
Efforts on to trace those missing: Police
"Three out of the four bodies were identified as boatman Narayan Matare (45), Wanshika Shivankar (2), and Kiran Khandale (25)," the police said. "Efforts were on to trace the other seven missing people," they added. Local MLA Devendra Bhuyar and Warud's sub-divisional officer Nitin Hingole rushed to the spot to supervise the search and rescue operation.
Second such incident in the past one week
A similar incident was reported in Assam where a private boat heading to Majuli sank on September 8, following a head-on collision with a government-owned ferry near Nimati Ghat in the Jorhat district, killing at least two people. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday ordered the filing of a criminal case over the capsizing.
