At least three people died on Tuesday after a boat capsized in the Wardha river in Maharashtra’s Amravati district, reported The Indian Express, citing the police.
Amravati (Rural) Superintendent of Police Hari Balaji told The Indian Express that search operation was underway to find eight missing passengers of the boat.
“The boat had a carrying capacity of just four or five people but 13 people, including the boatman, were riding it, which may have caused the boat to capsize,” Balaji added. “All [of them] belonged to related families from Tarasawangi, Gadegaon and Tivsaghat villages on Amravati-Nagpur border.”
The victims had come to Zunj area in Warud tehsil to attend post-death rituals of a relative on Monday, the police said. The next morning, they were on their way to a temple when the boat capsized, the police officer told PTI. Two of the passengers, both male, swam to safety.
Those who died have been identified as 45-year-old Narayan Matare, the boatman, 25-year-old Kiran Khandale and a two-year-old Wanshika Shivankar, according to the news agency.
Local MLA Devendra Bhuyar and Warud Sub-Divisional Officer Nitin Hingole were at the spot to supervise the rescue operation.
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