Patna boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 24, rescue ops resume

Out of the 40 on board, 21 bodies were recovered so far.

Patna, Jan 15: 24 people died after a boat carrying 40 people capsized here on Saturday. Rescue operations began soon after the incident took place but had to be halted at night. 21 bodies were pulled out on Saturday and three bodies were pulled out on Sunday taking the death toll to 24.

The rescue ops resumed on Sunday morning by NDRF teams. Meanwhile, prime minister Narendra Modi announced ex-gratia from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund of Rs 2 lakh for next of kin of those deceased and Rs 50,000 for those seriously injured.

RK Pachnanda, DG NDRF said on Sunday: "21 bodies have been recovered so far, search and rescue ops are underway. The NDRF teams are at the spot."

Around 40 people were said to be onboard the country boat when it capsized near NIT ghat on Saturday evening. The passengers were returning to Ranighat in Patna from Sabalpur diara across the river after watching a kite festival on the occasion of 'Makar Sankranti'.

OneIndia News