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Death toll in Godavari boat tragedy goes up to 9 as search ops resume
State tourism minister Muthamshetty Srinivas Rao said teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were continuing their search operations.
One more body was recovered as rescue operations resumed on Monday morning in the boat accident in Godavari river, taking the toll to nine. According to an official release, 24 people are still missing.
The boat - Royal Vashishta - was on its way from Gandi Pochamma temple to Papi Kondalu, a famous tourist spot, on Sunday when it capsized in the river near Devipatnam in Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district. Eight bodies were recovered on Sunday evening while 27 people were rescued.
“We have stepped up search operations to trace out the missing persons,” East Godavari Collector Muralidhar Reddy said on Monday morning.
State tourism minister Muthamshetty Srinivas Rao said teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were continuing their search operations. Eight boats and two Navy helicopters were pressed into service to resume the search.
There were, however, conflicting reports on the exact number of passengers travelling in the ill-fated boat.
The tourism minister told reporters that there were 73 persons in the boat including 61 tourists, nine crew members and three singers belonging to a cultural troupe hired to entertain the tourists. The boat - Royal Vashishta - was on its way from Gandi Pochamma temple to Papi Kondalu, a famous tourist spot. It is said to have been located 300 feet down in the Godavari river at Kachuluru village.
The state irrigation department authorities said all the gates of Dowleshwaram barrage in the downstream of Godavari river after Rajahmundry had been closed so that dead bodies would not be washed away down into the river towards Bay of Bengal.
Meanwhile, the recovered bodies were sent to Rajahmundhry government hospital for post mortem on Monday morning.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy undertook an aerial survey of the area where the tragedy happened, besides calling on the rescued passengers at Rampachodavaram hospital. He is likely to brief the media later in the day.
