Three missing after boat carrying eight people capsizes in Mumbai’s Powai lake

A boat carrying eight people capsized in Powai lake on Friday night. Five were rescued but three remain missing.

Three people are missing after a boat capsized in Powai lake, Mumbai suburb, late on Friday night.

Search operations were launched for three people who went missing after a boat capsized in Powai lake on Friday night. (ANI)

Of the eight on board, five people were immediately rescued but three others were not found, a civic official said. Search operations have been ongoing since, he added.

Boating in Powai has been in mired in controversy since 2014 when the civic body issued a demolition notice. Then chief of the Mumbai civic body, Sitaram Kunte, directed the city’s S ward -- under which Powai falls -- and the hydraulic department to demolish the illegal boats operating at Powai lake.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) also complained about the Maharashtra State Angling Association (MSAA) operating illegal houseboats for commercial purposes.

However, the organisation got a stay order from the high court while some of the boats were removed.

There are 29 houseboats used by around 400 members of the MSAA, which came under the civic body radar.