13 feared drowned in Ganga, UP government launches rescue operation
Police said the boatman may have failed to gauge the intensity of the current while letting 28 people into his vessel
At least 13 people were feared drowned when a boat capsized in the Ganga in Bijnor district on Friday afternoon. The vessel was transporting 28 people when the incident occurred.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed the police and district administration to undertake rescue and relief operations soon after the incident occurred. He also asked the district administration to extend all possible aid to the families of those missing.
According to superintendent of police Umesh Kumar Singh, the incident occurred while the villagers were crossing the overflowing river on a boat around 1.30 pm near Raja Rampur village. “They usually cross the river every day to gather grass from the other side of the village. The boatman apparently failed to gauge the intensity of the current while letting 28 people into his vessel,” he said.
The rescue operation was launched immediately after the incident occurred, and 15 people – seven women and eight men – were rescued. A team of divers was still searching for the others, said Singh.
Mandawar station house officer Anshumali Bharati confirmed that 13 of the 28 people on the boat are still missing.
