Krishna boat mishap: 18 bodies recovered, rescue ops underway; Modi expresses anguish.
Krishna: With the recovery of two more bodies on Monday, the death toll in the Krishna River boat tragedy in Andhra Pradesh has risen to 18.
Krishna District Collector B Lakshmi Kantam had this morning confirmed the recovery of 17 dead bodies.
17 bodies have been recovered so far, we are trying to trace remaining missing persons. Govt has appointed a senior committee to inquire, Krishna District Collector B Lakshmi Kantam said.
Police have also registered a case against 4-5 persons out of which one has been arrested, he added. An overloaded boat carrying at least 38 people had capsized in the Krishna river near Vijayawada on Sunday evening, resulting in the death of 16 tourists, while seven others went missing. Fifteen others were immediately rescued by the local fishermen. The ill-fated boat was being operated by a private company and was said to be on a trial run. The boat capsized in the Krishna River in Ibrahimpatnam Mandal, Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. The incident took place when the boat was about to reach its destination. A survivor later claimed that the boat capsized since it was overloaded. The state government has, meanwhile, announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased. Two teams each comprising 30 NDRF personnel, a 45-member team of the State Disaster Rescue Force (SDRF) and 60 members of the Disaster Response and Fire Services Department are still carrying out the rescue operation.
Giving more details about the relief and rescue operation, Santosh Kumar, NDRF Deputy Commandant, said, ''Rescue operation has been continuing since yesterday with four of our teams, divers are also making efforts to trace missing people.'' Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed grief over the tragedy.
Capsizing of a boat in the Krishna River is anguishing. My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy. Andhra Pradesh Government and @NDRFHQ have been working on rescue operations, Pmhad tweeted. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister (Home) N China Rajappa, Opposition leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, state BJP president K Hari Babu and others have also expressed grief over the incident.