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2 killed in boat capsize in Assam’s Son Beel lake during storm; 3 rescued
Son Beel is Assam’s largest wetland where boats are used as a common mode of transport. Located between Hailakandi and Karimganj in Assam, the lake is a massive tourist attraction with thousands visiting daily in normal circumstances.
Two persons including a minor drowned in Assam’s Son Beel lake in Karimganj district after a hand boat capsized during a mild storm on Wednesday evening. A state disaster response force (SDRF) team managed to rescue the other three persons. The two bodies were recovered at around 11:15 am on Thursday.
Karimganj superintendent of police (SP) Mayank Kumar Jha said the incident took place at around 4:30 pm yesterday and its circumstances will be probed by the District Disaster Management Authority or the DDMA.
Out of the five passengers sailing on the boat, Nilesh Das, his son, 17-year-old Ajit Das, and 7-year-old Dhanu Das, son of Manoranjan Das have been rescued. Nilesh Das is the owner of the boat and all of them are residents of Fakuragram village.
50-year-old Ujjala Das, wife of Amaresh Das, a resident of Kalyanpur village, and 10-year-old Hasi Das, daughter of Bishnupada Das, a resident of Santipur village, died.
“After an almost 15-hour long search operation, we have managed to recover the bodies. Now these will be sent to Silchar Medical College and hospitals for post-mortem and later it will be handed over to the family members,” said circle officer Vanlal Nampui Biate.
He wondered how the incident happened at a time when movement of individuals is restricted after 2 pm along with a ban on tourism activities amid the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic outbreak. He suspected some locals were using boats as their basic mode of transport despite the lockdown hours and storm warnings.
“Still some hand boats were sailing across the wetlands of Son Beel throughout the day. Few people were travelling by boat from Fakuagram to the Kalyanpur area yesterday evening and the incident took place,” the circle officer said.
Ratabari MLA Bijoy Malakar also rushed to the place. Talking to Hindustan Times he said he was directed by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sharma to be present till the rescue operation was completed. “I was returning home from Guwahati but now came straight to the spot after knowing about the incident. Now the SDRF team has recovered both the dead bodies. It is an unfortunate incident and we are going to find the actual reason behind this,” he said.
Son Beel is Assam’s largest wetland where boats are used as a common mode of transport. Located between Hailakandi and Karimganj in Assam, the lake is a massive tourist attraction with thousands visiting daily in normal circumstances. It is a massive water land where according to the experts, it becomes difficult to find missing people caught in drowning incidents as seen in the past.
