Hamirpur (UP): Five people, including four children, drowned after a boat capsized in the Yamuna River in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district, while an 11-year-old boy remains missing, police said Thursday.
They said the incident took place Wednesday evening in Kutubpur Patiya hamlet under Bhauli gram panchayat in the Kurara police station area when nine people, not including the boatman, were returning from a river island.
According to police, the boat lost balance in the middle of the river and capsized around 7 pm. The boatman, Dheeru, managed to rescue three people — Vishnu, Rinku and Parul.
The remaining six — five children and a woman– Akanksha (9), Rani (9), Brijrani (25), Labhyansh (5), Mahesh (6), and Aditya (11) — went missing, police said.
Later, Thursday, rescue teams recovered the bodies of Akanksha, Labhyansh, Mahesh, Rani and Brijrani.
SHO Brijesh Kumar said that due to heavy rain since the morning, teams are facing difficulties in the rescue operation. One Aditya is still missing, and attempts are on to trace him.
District Magistrate Abhishek Goyal said teams of the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force were conducting the search operation.
Taking cognisance of the incident, Chief Minister Adityanath has directed the district administration to investigate the cause of the accident and put in place effective measures to prevent such incidents in future.
The chief minister also instructed senior district officials to personally monitor the search operations and ensure all possible assistance to the affected families.
BJP MLA from Hamirpur Manoj Prajapati said, “We will ensure compensation to the affected families in accordance with the rules and submit a report to the chief minister on the incident,” he said.
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