3 dead, 11 missing as boat capsizes in Brahmaputra
Guwahati, September 5
Three persons were killed and at least 11 others went missing after an overloaded motorised country-made boat (bhut-bhuti) capsized in the Brahmaputra after hitting a concrete pillar on Wednesday.
The accident took place around 2 pm near the Aswaklanta temple ghat in Guwahati. Ten passengers have been rescued, while 12 others managed to swim to safety, Kamrup Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kumar Baishya said.
Reports suggested that the boat was over-crowded and was ferrying 18 motorcycles illegally and only 22 passengers on board had valid tickets.
The boat with 36 passengers was on its way to north Guwahati in Kamrup district across the river from Fancy Bazar ferry ghat here when its engine developed a technical snag and hit a concrete pillar near the bank of Ashwaklanta Temple, he said.
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were pressed into service and the body of two persons, including a girl student of Cotton State University, had been fished out.
Another girl of the university died on the way to hospital after being rescued, while four others of the institute who were also on the boat were missing. Passengers, however, said there were more than 40 people on the boat.
The rescue operations were suspended for the night due to low visibility and would resume on Thursday. The government has banned plying of mechanised country boats between North Guwahati and Guwahati on the Brahmaputra. The order will remain in force during the entire rainy season.
