By IANS,
Patna : At least seven people were killed and over 40 were missing after a boat carrying over 60 people capsized in the Bagmati river in Bihar’s Khagaria district, an official said Tuesday.
The accident took place Monday evening when villagers were returning from a fair to mark the conclusion of Durga Puja in Khagaria, about 200 km from here. The boat with a capacity of 30, was carrying over 60 villagers, mainly women and children.
“Till now seven bodies have been recovered and 15 of the passengers managed to swim to safety or were rescued but nearly 40 people are still missing,” Satish Chand Ojha, a district official, told IANS.
“Chances of survival of the missing people are remote as the boat capsized Monday evening, it has been over 12 hours, so we fear the worst for the remaining. We are trying to rescue as many people,” another district official said.
A team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) launched operations to search for the missing people. But the search operation was hampered when night fell, the official added.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced a compensation of Rs.150,000 to the families of the victims.