Two passenger boats collided at the Brahmaputra river in Assam on Wednesday afternoon, leaving at least one person dead and around 4 others missing. Officials stated the head-on accident among a larger authorities vessel and a smaller private ferry happened around 4 pm, kind of 100m from the Nematighat bank in Jorhat district. The smaller boat, Ma Kamala, carrying roughly 70 passengers, capsized nearly immediately.
“Till 10 pm, six hours after the incident, we have been able to rescue 43 passengers of the capsized boat. One of the rescued persons was declared dead later at the hospital,” said GD Tripathi, CEO of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
Initial reviews had expected extra than 50 people missing amid fears of an excessive demise toll, however, because the nighttime progressed, officers rescued many passengers and a few had been capable of the swim to the bank due to the fact the accident happened close to the jetty.
“The capsized boat was carrying around 67-68 passengers. Apart from the 43 rescued, 21 other passengers have been contacted traced. There’s confirmation of four persons from Majuli missing. So, there should be around 4-6 passengers who are still unaccounted for,” he added.
The boats carried passengers between Kamalabari in Majuli district and Nematighat but the services are not strictly regulated. The Brahmaputra and its tributaries are in spate due to recent showers and floods and rescue efforts are being hurt due to high water levels and strong currents, officials said.