Hundreds of grieving villagers and family members on Saturday gave a tearful adieu to the four girls who were killed in a boat tragedy as their mortal remains were consigned to flames at Nachhipur village, 10 km from here.
Women, men and children converged at the village crematorium for a last glimpse of the four girls. Meanwhile, the toll in the Friday boat tragedy rose to five with the rescuers retrieving another body. All missing persons were rescued on the basis of the information provided by the survivors.The boat, which sank in the Biluakhi river, was carrying more than 30 passengers against a capacity of 15. It was a country boat; so no professional boat man had been deployed. The accident occurred when about 30 villagers, most of them women and teen aged girls, were returning after attending a religious festival held in Sidheswar under Baisimouza area.
Eyewitnesses said the overburdened country boat, trapped in weeds, capsized in the middle of the river after water entered into it. The passengers tried to drain out the water, but in vain. Many passengers jumped off the boat in panic and were trapped by the weeds and were unable to swim across the river. later, the rescuers fished out their bodies and sent other injured victims to hospital.
The district administration released compensation to the tune of Rs 1.05 lakh to each deceased’s family from the Chief Minster’s Relief Fund and Rs 10,000 from the Red Cross to perform last rites, informed district Collector SK Mallick.