As many as six girls and a 35-year-old woman remain missing almost 24 hours after a boat capsized in the Gautami river in Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district on Saturday evening, PTI reported. Rain and strong winds hampered search operations on Sunday, officials said. Divers of the Indian Navy are among 20 teams of rescue personnel looking for those missing.
The missing girls are between 12 and 15 years old. Twenty-five of the 32 passengers who were on the boat have been rescued. The boat had capsized after it collided with a pier of an under-construction bridge around 5 pm on Saturday. The vessel was on its way from Talarivari Palem to Pasuvullanka.
“Our operations are hampered by strong winds and rain,” National Disaster Response Force Deputy Commander Madhusudan Reddy told PTI. “Besides, water level in the river has also risen by three feet due to heavy discharge of water from the Godavari. Still, we are carrying out the search.”
A Navy helicopter is ready to be deployed for the operation once the weather clears, the State Disaster Management Authority said. Deputy Chief Minister N China Rajappa is in Yanam town to monitor the operation.
Rescue operations were called off at night and began on Sunday morning.
The police took the boat’s driver into custody and filed a case against him, Vishal Gummi, superintendent of police, East Godavari, told The News Minute.
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