Two killed, three hurt after boat capsizes in Bihar’s Kiul River

Two people, including a woman, were killed when a boat capsized in the Kiul River near Chanania village under the Piparia Block in Lakhisarai district on Wednesday morning. Of the 50-60 other people who were in the boat, five are missing and three others have been rescued by the locals.

A number of others managed to swim ashore.

The condition of all three people identified as Anita Kumari, 19, Nisha Kumari, 24 and Sudha Kumari, 19 is very critical. Those who died were identified as Urmila Devi, 45 and Rakesh Kumar, 19

Police said that the injured were undergoing treatment at Sadar Hospital and were in a state of shock and were unable to speak too much. He said that the police were waiting for improvement in their condition to record their statements.

Through the exact reason behind the boat capsize was yet to be ascertained, initial reports suggested that over crowding and poor condition of the boat were responsible for the incident.

Meanwhile, teams of NDRF personnel rushed to the spot from Bhagalpur to join the search operation with local divers to locate the missing persons. Lakhisari SP Sunil Kumar said that the incident took place when the boat was carrying the villagers to the riverine belt. He said the boat seemed to have lost its balance due to the strong winds.

Hours after the incident DM Sobhendra Choudhary, SDM Murli Prasad reached the spot to inquire about the incident and angry scenes were reported between the police and the villagers. Local residents came face to face with the officials over the delay in rescue operations and alleged that local the CO and BDO did not receive phone calls despite several calls being made to them.

Meanwhile, chief minister Nitish Kumar has expressed grief at the death of two persons in the incident. He has ordered free medical treatment for the injured.