Madhya Pradesh boat capsize: Bodies of all seven victims recovered; search operation ends

Shivpuri: The authorities on Wednesday recovered the bodies of all seven persons, including four children, who drowned after a boat carrying them capsized in Matatila dam in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district a day ago, police said.

The incident occurred on Tuesday evening when the boat was carrying 15 persons to a temple located on the island in the dam that falls within the limits of the Khaniyadhana police station, police officials said.

While eight persons were rescued with the help of villagers, seven others went missing in the water, they said. Pichhore's Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Prashant Sharma said the rescue operations were carried out throughout the night and the bodies of all seven victims were recovered till Wednesday evening.

The body of a 15-year-old girl named Kumkum was the last one to be found. It was fished out in the evening, he said. The bodies of six other deceased, identified as Kanha (7), Shiva (8), Chayna (14), Ramdevi (35), Leela (40) and Sharda (55), were recovered earlier in the day, he said.

A 14-year-old boy - Johnson Lodhi - who was on board the ill-fated boat, showed courage and saved his mother and aunt from drowning by holding them in water till the rescue boat arrived, the district administration said in a statement. The boy not only saved his own life but he also succeeded in saving the lives of his mother and aunt, it said.

Talking to PTI, Ramdevi, a survivor, said water started gushing into the boat from the bottom, causing it to tilt on one side in no time. She said although she did not know how to swim, she just started moving her hands in the water out of desperation, and she was saved by a boat that arrived at the spot soon after. Ramdevi said that she was pulled into the boat that came to rescue the victims.

Eyewitnesses said that out of eight persons, three swam to safety while five others were rescued by two men identified as Shital Jatav and Pran Singh. Jatav said that as soon as he noticed that the boat was capsizing, he took another boat and reached the spot along with Pran Singh. There, they started helping the affected persons to get on board their boat, he said. Talking to reporters from the site of the incident, Shivpuri district collector Ravindra Kumar Chaudhary said efforts were made by rescuers to trace the victims at night, but the bodies were recovered on Wednesday.

"People visit the temple located on the island in the dam to offer prayers, especially during the Holi and Rang Panchmi festivals," he said. "The boat involved in the incident was a small one made of wood. The incident might have been caused either due to water entering the boat or an imbalance it suffered," he said. The administration will take steps to prevent such incidents from happening in the future, the collector said. Those who rescued eight persons will be awarded, he said. On Tuesday night, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the dead.