Death toll climbs to 13, search on for three
AGRA, April 13 -- The toll in the boat capsize in the Yamuna River rose to 13 on Sunday after two more bodies were recovered, officials said, as rescue teams continued an intensive search for three missing persons in Mathura.
Teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Army and Pradeshik Armed Constabulary (PAC) Flood units have been carrying out search operations since Friday afternoon when a boat carrying 38 devotees from Ludhiana, Punjab, capsized near Kesi Ghat.
Pankaj Kumar, additional district magistrate (finance and revenue), said two bodies recovered during the search on Sunday morning were identified as Rishabh Sharma, 30 and Dinkey Bansal, 21.
"Family members of the missing are in Mathura and the bodies will be handed over after due compliance," he said.
He added that water flow from Gokul Barrage has been regulated to facilitate the search operation and efforts are on to trace the remaining missing persons.
Earlier on Saturday, the body of Manik Tandon was recovered around three kilometres from the spot where the boat capsized, taking the toll to 11 at that time. Officials said while one of the bodies recovered on Sunday was found near the site, the other had drifted several kilometres, leading to expansion of the search area.
Police have arrested the boatman Pappu alias Dauji (38) and contractor Narain Thekedar (52) and booked them under Section 105 (culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Mant police station. They were allegedly negligent when the boat collided with an unlocked pontoon bridge being moved by a JCB, causing it to capsize around 3 pm on Friday.
CP Singh, district magistrate, has ordered a probe into the incident by ADM Pankaj Kumar. The victims were part of a 132-member group of devotees from Ludhiana who had come to Mathura on pilgrimage....
To read the full article or to get the complete feed from this publication, please
Contact Us.