Varanasi boat tragedy: Seven bodies recovered

Bodies of seven persons who had gone missing after a boat capsized in the Ganga here have been recovered, a senior government official said today. "A list prepared by us carries name of 42 people (travelling in the boat). 23 of them managed to safely swim out of the river. Seven bodies have been recovered till last night and a search is on to recover bodies of the missing 12 people," said Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Chunar in Mirzapur district, Ashok Kanojia.

All the seven bodies have been sent for post mortem. Six of the deceased have been identified as Tanya, Brijesh Kumar Singh, Hirawati, Prem Pandit, Shiv Kumar and Chhidan. The seventh one is yet to be identified, Kanojia said. "People on board the boat mostly hailed from Gaangpur village of Mirzapur district," said Kanojia, who is incharge of a helpline established in the Chunar region to assist families of the victims.
Kanojia said, "The exact figure about the number of people who were onboard the motor boat is still not clear and it may be more than 42."

"We are trying to figure out the exact number of people travelling on the boat by enquiring from those who managed to safely swim out of the river," he said. A team of NDRF, Jal Police and PAC flood platoon along with river divers is carrying out search operations in Varanasi and Mirzapur district. The boat, heading towards Mirzapur from Varanasi, yesterday capsized in the river at Betawar ghat near Shooltankeshwar area. Yesterday, Varanasi SP (Rural) Pradeep Gupta had said that the boat was carrying 40 people and 22 of them had managed to swim while 18 persons were missing.