Boat capsizes on Brahmaputra in Assam’s Dhubri; circle officer missing
The incident took place around 11am when a team from the Dhubri circle office were on a visit to inspect erosion near an under construction bridge
A circle officer was reported missing after a boat with at least 28 people on board sank in a channel of the Brahmaputra River in western Assam’s Dhubri district Thursday morning.
According to district officials, the incident took place around 11am when a team from the Dhubri circle office were on a visit to inspect erosion near an under construction bridge.
“There’s a small channel near the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge. The team was crossing the channel on a wooden boat when the boat’s hull hit something and capsized,” said MP Anbamuthan, deputy commissioner, Dhubri.
“The boat was carrying 29 persons, many of them from the Dhubri circle office, and had gone to take stock of erosion taking place in the area when the accident took place,” he added.
While some passengers managed to swim to safety, others were rescued by State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Border Security Force (BSF) teams which were pressed into search and rescue operations immediately.
“While 28 persons are safe there’s no trace yet of Dhubri circle officer Sanju Das. Efforts to trace him will begin early on Friday. Eight persons who are in shock due to the incident are admitted in hospital,” Anbamuthan said.