JOIN US One person was killed and at least 12 others were missing after an overcrowded boat capsized in river Bhagirathi.
The incident has led to sparking violent protest in Nadia district during which several boats were torched and the police fired rubber bullets to control the mob.
The boat was ferrying at least 55 people, much above its capacity. They were returning from a fair at Kalna in Burdwan district to Shantipur in Nadia when the boat turned turtle on Saturday night, Nadia District Magistrate (DM) Vijay Bharti said over phone on Sunday.
The body of a 35-year-old woman passenger was recovered from the river bed near Shantipur, Bharti said.
Burdwan Superintendent of Police Gaurab Sharma said many people swam to safety.
Burdwan district magistrate Saumitra Mohan said several teams, including rescuers from the Disaster Management Group, civil defence and private divers, besides 2 teams of National Disaster Response Force were pressed into service to find the missing.
“Over 150 rescue workers in multiple teams are employed in the search operation. Civic volunteers and private divers are also working,” the Burdwan DM said.
When asked about the delay in rescue operations, Mohan said the water current, depth of the river and the muddy water was making the job of the divers “very difficult”.
“The river is very deep even at the jetty where the mishap happened. It’s around 70 feet deep there itself. It deepens further as you go inside. The water is muddy rendering the visibility poor and the river current made stronger by last night’s rain and thundershowers,” he said.
The DM said “overloading” was one of the suspected causes leading to the mishap.
“As per our initial reports, it appeared that the carrying capacity of the boat was around 45. But around 15-20 more people jumped onto the boat breaking the police cordon at the ghat... And the boat broke down the moment it started sailing and then capsized,” Mohan said.