At least 11 people drowned and numerous others were missing after a sightseeing boat capsized in India on Sunday.
The Royal Vashishta vessel had more than 60 people on board when the accident occurred in the Godavari river, near India’s east coast.
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The cause of the incident was not yet known but the water had been flowing fast for a week, according to local media.
Several other people were rescued and emergency teams have continued to search for more surviving passengers.
“Twenty-seven people were either rescued by local fishermen or swam to safety,” a state disaster management authority official confirmed.
Official condolences
The boat was run by the state government and all its passengers were Indian nationals.
On his official Twitter account, Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said he was “deeply saddened to learn about the loss of lives in near Kacchuluru in Devipatnam Mandal of the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.”
India has seen other incidents of this kind in the recent past. Just last Friday, two boats capsized in Bhopal, in central India, resulting in numerous losses of life, and in May 2018, 30 people died when a vessel capsized in the Godavari, not far from the scene of Sunday’s tragedy.
jsi/tj (AFP, AP, dpa)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/several-killed-as-boat-capsizes-in-india/a-50439119?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf