At least two people have been killed and many other passengers are still missing after a boat carrying about 36 passengers capsised in the Brahmaputra river in Guwahati on Wednesday
Guwahati: At least two people including a college girl have been killed and many other passengers are still missing after a country-made boat carrying about 36 passengers capsised in the Brahmaputra river in Guwahati on Wednesday.
The incident took place near Ashwaklanta Temple in North Guwahati on Wednesday at around 1:45 pm.
Kamrup (Metro) district administration, NDRF, SDRF, police teams have been pressed into service while search and rescue operations going on in full swing.
According to the reports, the single-engine private boat locally called as ‘bhutbhuti’ plied from Fancy Bazar in Guwahati to north Guwahati on the other side of the river.
The boat carrying at least 36 passengers along with 18 motorcycles capsized after hitting a concrete pillar, while it was about 200 m away from its destination on the north bank of the river.
When the boat overturned, at least 12 people swam and took shelter underneath some concrete pillars constructed for a ropeway project.
According to the reports, only 22 passengers had valid tickets and the boat was overcrowded.
Meanwhile, the rescue teams recovered two bodies, including a girl who was identified as Ankita Baruah, a student of Cotton University.
However, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has directed Additional Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.
Sonowal also directed the additional chief secretary to investigate into the reasons responsible for the boat capsize and the factors triggering the mishap and submit a report at the earliest.
The Assam police arrested two drivers of the capsized boat on Wednesday.
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