Two days after a boat capsized in the Yamuna river in the Banda district, eight more bodies surfaced at different places, taking the death toll to 11, officials said on Saturday. Nine more people are still missing even as search operations are underway, they added.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), assisted by expert divers from Prayagraj and locals, found more bodies floating on the Fatehpur side in Asothar and Kishanpur.
Banda superintendent of police (SP) Abhinandan said eight bodies were found in addition to three found after the tragedy on Thursday. While six bodies have been identified, efforts are on to establish the identities of the remaining two, he added.
Station House Officer, Kishanpur, Sanjay Tiwari told PTI, “Eight bodies have been recovered from the Yamuna river. The NDRF has taken one of them to Marka police station.”The bodies were found 15-20 km from the spot where the boat capsized, he said.
The area where the bodies were found comes under the jurisdiction of the Kishanpur police station. Fatehpur District Magistrate (DM) Shruti said the bodies were identified as those of Ramkaran (40), Geeta (38), Jhullu (42), Maya Devi (35), Preeti (22), Seema (37) and Babu (45).
Chutka, a resident of Marka, said the body of his aunt Maya was among the eight bodies found 25 km away from where the boat capsized near Narauli ghat.
{{/usCountry}}Chutka, a resident of Marka, said the body of his aunt Maya was among the eight bodies found 25 km away from where the boat capsized near Narauli ghat.
{{/usCountry}}Six bodies were found during a late-night search, while two were located in the morning. The 30-member NDRF team and 15-member SDRF team with PAC divers have been pressed into service to locate the remaining people, officials said.
The boat carrying nearly 40 people, three motorcycles and seven bicycles capsized Thursday on its way to Fatehpur after strong wind broke one of the flank.s Only around 17 people managed to swim to safety.
Cabinet minister Rakesh Sachan, who has been camping in Fatehpur with Minister of State for Jal Shakti Ramkesh Nishad to monitor the search operation, said the government is with the families of those killed in the accident.
“Strict action will be taken against officials for laxity in rescue and relief operations,” he said, adding that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is keeping a close watch on the entire matter.