Immersion: 5 drown as boat capsizes

Kolkata: Five persons died after a boat capsized at Beldanga in Murshidabad during immersion of Durga idol on Monday.

According to sources, on Monday evening, the Durga idol of Hazra bari, Beldanga, was taken to the water body Dumnidah bil. There two country boats were arranged to take the idol to the middle of the water body for immersion. It is alleged that people more than the boat's capacity boarded despite the boatmen cautioned them.

The Puja organizers even compelled the boatmen to get down from the boats and were controlling them. In the middle of the water body the boats capsized one by one. The people on board were allegedly drunk when the incident took place. As soon as the boats went down, locals rescued the people from the water. However, five persons identified as Arindam Banerjee, Pinkan Pal, Sukhendu Dey, Nipan Hazra Banerjee and Sonath Hazra Banerjee are still missing. Professional divers were called in and five bodies were fished out at night. Sources informed that the five deceased persons got stuck under the idol when a rope got entangled with their legs and bodies.