Five Dead After Boat Capsizes In Yamuna In Uttar Pradesh's Hamirpur, Search On For Missing Persons

Hamirpur: Close on the heels of the tragic cruise boat mishap in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur which led to death of at least 13 people, a similar tragedy unfolded in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district, when a boat carrying women and children capsized in Yamuna river in Kurara area on Wednesday night, leaving at least five persons dead.

The incident took place near Kutubpur Patiya hamlet under Bhauli gram panchayat in Kurara police station area when several people were returning from a river island after purchasing cucumbers and muskmelons.

Receiving information about the mishap, Police personnel, along with NDRF and SDRF teams launched a rescue operation. So far, the bodies of a woman and a 14-year-old girl have been recovered, while three people have been rescued safely. Search operations are underway to trace the remaining missing person(s).

According to police, the boat lost balance in the middle of the river and capsized around 7 PM. An official confirmation on the number of people on board is still awaited.

Senior district officials, including Superintendent of Police Mrigank Shekhar Pathak and District Magistrate Abhishek Kumar, also reached the spot to monitor the rescue efforts.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken cognisance of the incident and directed senior police and administrative officials to carry out relief and rescue operations on a war footing. The Chief Minister instructed officials to ensure that missing persons are traced as quickly as possible and said any negligence in the matter would not be tolerated. He also asked district authorities to investigate the cause of the accident and put strict measures in place to prevent such incidents in future.

DM Abhishek Kumar Goyal said information about the boat capsize was received around 8.30 PM. "Two people on board were residents of Ghatampur, while seven belonged to Kutubpur Patiya village. They regularly crossed the Yamuna river for watermelon and muskmelon farming," he said.'

Goyal said a search for the missing is being conducted by teams of the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force.

Police said initial investigation has revealed that the boat overturned because of overloading.

The boatman, Dheeru, managed to rescue three people -- Vishnu, Rinku and Parul. The remaining six -- Akanksha (9), Rani (9), Brijrani (25), Labhyansh (5), Mahesh (6), and Aditya (11) -- were missing, police said, adding that bodies of some have been recovered now.

BJP MLA from Hamirpur Manoj Prajapati said he will submit a report to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath about the incident.

"Attempts are on to trace the missing. We will ensure compensation to the affected families in accordance with the rules and submit a report to the chief minister on the incident," he said.