Hajipur (Bihar), Oct 13 At least 13 people died after a boat capsized in the Ganga river in Bihar’s Vaishali district on Tuesday evening, officials said.
According to sources, most of those on the ill-fated boat were children.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who represents the Raghopur Assembly constituency where the incident occurred, claimed in a video posted on X that 14 bodies have been recovered so far. The boat had 30 passengers, and six of them have been sent to hospital while three were safe, he claimed,.
However, Vaishali District Magistrate Varsha Singh told PTI that “13 people have died while six were rescued after the boat capsized in the Ganga river in Raghopur.” Rescue work was underway, she added.
Officials said the incident occurred as people were on their way to attend a feast in a village across the river.
Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary condoled the loss of life in the incident and announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each deceased.
Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the Bihar Assembly, in an X post said, “Most of those who drowned are children. Have urged the local administration to expedite rescue and relief operations..
“I have spoken to the district magistrate and the secretary of the disaster management department, urging them to send as many rescue teams as possible to the spot,” he added.
(PTI News)
