Kota (Raj), Oct 20 Four youths are feared drowned after a boat carrying seven people overturned in Kota on Tuesday evening.
The incident occurred in Kotri Canal near the Steel Bridge under the Udhyog Nagar police station limits during a Durga idol immersion ceremony.
While three managed to swim to safety, officials have launched a rescue operation to find the remaining people.
After being informed of the incident, Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar suspended his panchyat election campaign and rushed to the spot before directing the district administration to begin a search operation.
District Collector Piyush Samariya and the city Superintendent of Police Tejaswini Gautam also reached the site to oversee the search efforts.
Speaking to the media, Dilawar said seven people took a small wooden and unsafe boat, which capsized in the middle of the canal, violating prohibitory orders imposed by the authorities. He added that the site where the incident took place was a restricted area and idol immersion was not permitted there.
Dilawar said all available resources, machinery, and teams, including the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), are actively working on the ground with prayers for the safe recovery of the missing youths.
At least 15 to 17 SDRF personnel, along with municipal corporation divers, civil defence teams and local administration staff, have been deployed for the search operation, while authorities have temporarily stopped the water flow in the canal to assist the rescue work.
Rakesh Vyas, Deputy Commissioner of the Kota Municipal Corporation, said rescue teams were dispatched as soon as the incident came to light, noting that the tragic event took place at an unauthorised location rather than a designated immersion spot where municipal teams had been deployed.
(PTI News)
