16 people feared drowned in boat mishap in Bihar

Gopalganj, Oct 2 (UNI) Altogether 16 people were feared missing in the Gandak river when their boat capsized midstream near Salehpur village in Bihar's Gopalganj district today.

Gopalganj Sub-Divisional Officer(SDO) Raghunath Prasad, now camping near the spot, said the mishap occurred when the country boat, ferrying about 60 people from Ahiraulidanchak village in Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh to Salehpur village in Gopalganj, was caught in the swirling waters of the Gandak river and capsized immediately.

All the passengers fell into the river and went missing.

Though 44 passengers swam to safety, 16 could not be traced so far.

Soon a number of boats and divers were pressed into service by the district adminisatration. The search operation is on.

UNI