A total of six bodies have been fished out in the Ghazipur incident in which more than 17 people were feared drowned after a boat capsized in Athata village of the district on Wednesday evening.
The death toll went up to six on Thursday after the recovery of two more bodies. Union Minister of State (Education) Annapurna Devi, who was on a visit to the district, expressed grief over the incident and assured all possible help.
Ghazipur DM Mangla Prasad Singh said: “Six people have died so far in the boat accident in Athata village of the flood-affected Severai tehsil. Boats are being used by the administration to ferry flood victims in the affected areas and the boat that capsized was medium in size.”
“According to the sailor, the boat was spacious enough to comfortably accommodate but it capsized when there were only 17 people, including the elderly, women and children. When the water was still, people got distracted due to the sight of a snake and according to the sailor, a person panicked and jumped into the water. Due to this, the boat overturned. The bodies of two people were recovered on Wednesday evening. Today, four more bodies have been fished out. Many people are still missing.”
Many officers, including the SP and DM, were present on the spot and a team of divers was engaged in search of the missing people.