Two persons are missing after a boat carrying 21 labourers capsized in the Ganga river at Raghopur embankment in Bihar’s Bhagalpur on Wednesday.
Police said the quick response team rescued 19 of them; however, a search operation for the remaining two — Badal Mandal from Lodipur and Sikandar Mandal from Simaria — is underway.
The labourers in the boat were placing sandbags into the Ganga to stop erosion after the flood situation worsened following a breach in the embankment two days ago, inundating several villages.
Deep Dive
What caused the boat to capsize in the Ganga river in Bihar?
Why are Bihar authorities on high alert following the floods in Nepal?
How is the Bihar government responding to the current flood situation?
“The embankment breached near the village of Bihar minister Bulo Mandal and the flood fighting teams in boats were carrying out anti erosion work in the village on Wednesday when the boat capsized,” officials said.
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Officials said shifting weight and changing currents led to an imbalance in the boat, causing it to capsize. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team deployed six boats for the rescue operation.
Bhagalpur district magistrate Alankrita Pandey, along with other officials, visited the breached site. “Our prime focus is to stop erosion so that the flow of flood water can be checked,” engineers said.
{{/usCountry}}Bhagalpur district magistrate Alankrita Pandey, along with other officials, visited the breached site. “Our prime focus is to stop erosion so that the flow of flood water can be checked,” engineers said.
{{/usCountry}}The flood situation in the state remains grim, as a majority of rivers, including the Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Bagmati, Khiroi and Ghaghra, continue to flow above the danger level in Gopalganj, Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Khagaria and Siwan. The Ganga was flowing about 18cm above the normal level at Gandhi Ghat in Patna, 35cm at Hatidah and 36cm above the danger level at Kahalgaon. The current spell of floods has so far affected a population of more than 83.62 lakh in 1,333 panchayats across 130 blocks in 16 districts.
Also Read:Bihar on flood alert as Nepal rivers swell
“A monsoon trough crossing Jharkhand and West Bengal is shifting towards the Bay of Bengal. Besides, a low-pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify. Under the influence, south districts of Bihar are likely to experience enhanced rain activity for next two days,” a Met department official, Shatrughan Kumar Mandal, said on Monday.
Meanwhile, authorities in Bihar’s West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj and Muzaffarpur stepped up preparedness, including evacuating residents from vulnerable areas to safer locations, after a flash flood in the Bhote Koshi River upstream killed at least nine people in neighbouring Nepal and Tibet, washed away villages and damaged infrastructure on Wednesday.