At least 17 feared drowning, and more than six were missing after a boat carrying devotees drowned in the Ganga River in Bihar's Patna on Sunday, June 16.
"The mishap took place at around 9.15 am near Umanath ganga ghat when the boat carrying 17 people, mostly belonging to a family, overturned midway. The boat overturned and sank in the middle of the Ganga River. While 11 people have been rescued so far…some of them managed to swim to safety and reach the shore of the river, six are still missing," Shubham Kumar, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Barh) told reporters.
According to the information received, people rushed into the Ganga River to take a holy bath on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra and boarded a boat. The overloaded boat with devotees overturned in the river. On getting information, officials of the district administration and police personnel reached the spot and started rescue operations with the help of locals to trace the whereabouts of the missing occupants of the ill-fated boat, said the SDM.
Visuals From Ganga River
Currently, 6 people are reported missing in this incident. 11 people managed to swim to safety. The incident has caused chaos in the area.
"A small boat capsized here. There were 17 people on the boat, out of which 11 are safe, 6 are missing. The SDRF team has left, they are about to reach here... The search operation is on," said Barh SDM Shubham Kumar.
The rescue operation is currently underway. Further details related to the incident are underway