Godavari boat capsize: Rescue efforts on war-footing; Navy choppers, NDRF teams deployed

Hyderabad, Sep 15: Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy swiftly swung into action after the tragic boat capsize in Godavari river today which left 12 dead. The chief minister has directed officials to carry out the rescue operations on a war-footing.

Reddy has ordered to stop all the boat services on rivers in the state with immediate effect and ordered a committee to be formed to suggest guidelines to permit the boats on rivers. As per reports, the capsized boat did not have a license.

Navy helicopters are conducting rescue operations. Two teams of NDRF have been mobilized, one from Vishakhapatnam and one from Guntur, said reports

A boat 'Royal Vashishta' with 62 people, including crew members, capsized in the Godavari river near Devipatnam in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday. Eleven are confirmed dead while 31 are still missing and 24 have been rescued.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed profound grief over the tragic incident.

"Extremely pained by the capsizing of a boat in Andhra Pradesh's East Godavari. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. Rescue operations are currently underway at the site of the tragedy," Modi tweeted.

The boat, belonging to a private operator, was on its way to the picturesque Papikondalu tourist spot in the middle of the river when it met with the accident, apparently on colliding with a large rock formation, at Kachchuluru in East Godavari District, about 200 km from Amaravati.

Twelves bodies have been retrieved so far while 17 people were rescued by the locals, police said adding two teams of National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force, with a total of 140 personnel, have been sent to the accident spot for rescue operations. A special helicopter has been pressed into service from Rajamahendravaram for the rescue operation.