MP boat capsize death toll rises to 13; 1 tourist still missing: Officials

On Thursday evening around 6:13 pm, a sudden storm with strong winds of 40–60 km/h overturned the Narmada Queen

Rescue teams recovered two more bodies on Sunday from the Bargi Dam cruise accident in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district, raising the death toll to 13, with one person still missing.

Rescue personnel conduct a search operation after the cruise boat tragedy that occurred on Thursday, in Jabalpur. (PTI)

The deceased were identified as Kamraaj R, 45, an Ordnance Factory Khamraja employee and his nine-year-old nephew Mauryan, both residents of Tamil Nadu.

Kamraaj boarded the cruise with his wife Kakujhari, sons Shritamil (6) and Puvitharan (9), and his sister-in-law Sobhagyam, who was traveling with her son Mayuran. Except for Puvitharan, the entire family perished. The bodies of Kakujhari and Sobhagyam were flown to Coimbatore by air ambulance on Saturday.

“One individual remains missing, and the search operation continues under the SDRF [State Disaster Response Force] and NDRF [National Disaster Response Force], even as the Army has withdrawn,” said Anjul Mishra, city superintendent of police, Bargi.

Officials said 43 tourists had boarded the vessel and 29 were rescued. Thirteen bodies have been recovered so far, including eight women, four children, and one man, while one person is still unaccounted for. CCTV footage confirmed the passenger count at 43.