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Toll from Madhya Pradesh cruise boat capsize rises to 9; rescue op continues
Officials said the bodies of eight women and a child have been recovered from the reservoir, nearly 35 km from Jabalpur
The toll from the tourist cruise boat capsize in the Bargi dam reservoir on the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh during a storm on Thursday rose to nine, as the rescue operations resumed on Friday with the arrival of an army team and a helicopter from Hyderabad and a special paramilitary unit from Kolkata. Four people remained missing.
Officials said the bodies of eight women and a child have been recovered from the reservoir, nearly 35 km from Jabalpur. Twenty-eight passengers were rescued. Officials said tickets were issued for 29 passengers, but survivors claimed 43-45 people were on the boat.
Bargi police superintendent Anjul Mishra said the army team, helicopter, and the paramilitary unit arrived to bolster rescue operations. “Hydraulic machinery and excavators are being used to retrieve the submerged vessel, 20 feet underwater,” he said. Chief minister Mohan Yadav was expected to arrive in Jabalpur at 4pm.
Authorities want to rule out the possibility of missing persons being trapped inside the vessel.
A 14-year-old survivor, who lost her 39-year-old mother, grandmother, and four-year-old brother, said no one had life jackets. “My father and uncle broke open a locker to get them. My grandfather jumped into the river and was saved by villagers. My father and I also jumped in wearing jackets. My mother was putting a jacket on my brother when the waves surged violently. She held him tightly within her own jacket. Later, their bodies were found. Police also found the body of my grandmother.”
The survivor said locals had warned the pilot to halt operations as the storm approached, but their pleas were ignored. Cruise pilot, Mahesh, refuted allegations and said safety measures were in place, but the vessel went out of control due to a sudden, violent storm. “No one had a chance to react or regain footing.”
Another survivor, 40-year-old Prateek Kumar, on Thursday alleged safety lapses. “The [cruise] staff began handing out life jackets only after the cruise started capsizing. Locals saved me, my daughter, and my father-in-law,” he said. He added that his wife and mother-in-law were still missing.
