Three persons drowned while 32 others, including women and children, were missing after a boat, packed with people, capsised in the Yamuna river in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district, about 150 kilometres from here.
According to the sources three bodies had so far been fished out of the swollen river and a massive operation was underway to trace the missing people. The district officials said that teams of NDRF and divers had been pressed into service to carry out rescue operations.
While eye witnesses said that the number of missing people stood at 32, the officials claimed that 17 people were untraceable. Sources said that as many as 50 people were on the boat which also had motor bikes and cycles. A majority of the people were going across the river to meet their sisters and brothers on the occasion of Rakshabandhan on Thursday.
Eye witness accounts said that 15 people, including the boatman, managed to swim to safety. The boat was swept away by the strong currents as it reached midway and within a few minutes it overturned and vanished, they said.
The local people complained that rescue teams arrived at the scene several hours after being informed about the tragedy. The district officials, however, said that rescue operations had been launched within a few hours of the incident but it was hampered by rains and strong winds.
The local residents also said that they had been demanding construction of a bridge over the river for a long time without any success.
Two UP ministers were rushed to supervise the rescue operations, sources said, adding that chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs four lakh to the next of kin of each of the deceased.
Published 12 August 2022, 08:47 IST