Schoolkids among 6 die in Srinagar boat mishap

Naseer A Ganai

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Srinagar, April 16

Six persons, including two brothers and their mother, were killed when a boat carrying mostly schoolchildren capsized in the Jhelum river at Gandbal on the outskirts of the city around 7.45 am on Tuesday. A father-son duo was among three persons missing, said officials.

According to information, 19 persons were on the boat, of whom 10 were rescued in an operation undertaken by the SDRF, Jammu and Kashmir Police and other agencies.

A local resident said that his wife, who was on the riverbank, alerted him about mishap. “I rushed my boat towards the victims. I save a woman clutching her two girls. I also searched for others but found none,” he said. Among those missing is seven-year-old Farhan Waseem Parray. His mother Masarat Begum survived.

The boatman, Gulzar Ahmad Dar, too died, leaving behind his wife and three daughters. Fayaz Ahmad Malik has lost his wife Firdousa and two sons. The children were on their way to their school across the river in Batwara area.

The Gandbal-Batwara bridge was sanctioned in 2017, but the work was delayed, rued residents. “Had it been completed on time, no one would have died here today,” residents said.