Boat capsize kills one

A person drowned as a boat capsized on the river Padma near Murshidabad’s Raninagar.

Later, his body was fished out from near the shore of Bamanabad. Police said that Kuddush Sheikh (42) was one of the victims and his body was handed over to his family.

Two other people were rescued and were sent to the hospital. 

“But we have not yet managed to find the other three. We have taken the help of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). We hope the missing persons will soon be recovered,” said a police officer.

The victims were all local farmers who had gone to market and were returning home with vegetables. Police suspect that the due to their combined weight being more than that of the boat and the stormy weather led to the mishap. The boat toppled in the middle of the river. “The people who were on it started to swim towards the shore. Some of them have succeeded but three of them are still missing,” an officer added.

The NDRF team, with their boats, have started the rescue work but the torrential rains have troubled them too. The locals have also joined hands with the police and the NDRF to expedite the rescue work. The local boat sailors and fishermen were the first who had witnessed the incident and informed it to the police. 

“Some people were swimming towards the shore. We too dived into the water to rescue them. They were taken to the shore,” said the villagers.

The villagers took those men to their residence and treated them. Later, they were taken to the local health centre. The police team came to rescue the others. The police divers were unable to trace those who were missing.

Later, the NDRF jawans were called up. They have rescued the body of Kuddush Sheikh. The district administration said that the rescue work will go on at night as well.