Narsapur, January 31: An early morning boat journey by villagers going for a holy dip in the Godavari turned tragic after the boat capsized drowning 12 persons at Biyyaputippa village of Narsapur mandal in West Godavari district Saturday.
A few more persons are reported missing and teams with a helicopter from the Eastern Naval Command and motor boats rescued 38. The ill-fated craft was headed for Antervedi in connection with the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Kalyanotsavam festival. Though the main cause of the mishap was overloading of the boat, another reason, officials said, was that the boat driver started two engines simultaneously and lost control.
It was around 6:30 a.m. when over 50 persons from nearby villages of Vemuladeevi, Dharbharevu, Marritippa, Ojuguppa got into the boat for a dip in the sea at Antervedi, a kilometre away.
Three boats had been detailed to ferry the pilgrims. Accordingly, they were divided into groups, and the journey began.
Barely, 500 feet from the bank, the boat overturned and some passengers fell into the river and got entangled in the fishing nets fixed beneath the countrymade craft. On receipt of information, the local police and district administration swung into action. A chopper from the Eastern Naval Command and some motor boats with expert divers were pressed into service to rescue the villagers.
“We have retrieved 11 bodies. Rescue operations are continuing. Meanwhile, we have learnt that several persons who were supposed to board the ill-fated boat actually got on to the others. Therefore, we do not think that there could be anymore missing persons but the search is on,” Eluru range DIG Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat, who is among those supervising the operations, told Express.
Though two policemen — one Head Constable and a Police Constable — were posted there throughout the week to prevent overloading of boats, both were absent today. “Action is being initiated against them,” the DIG said.
–Agencies