Maharashtra: 3 Dead, 8 Missing After Overloaded Boat Capsizes In Wardha River; Search Ops On

In a highly tragic incident, 11 persons went missing and feared drowned as an overloaded boat with 30 persons aboard suddenly capsized in the Wardha River in Maharashtra's Amravati on Tuesday. 

Maharashtra Boat Tragedy

New Delhi: In a highly tragic incident, at least 11 persons went missing and feared drowned as an overloaded boat with 30 persons aboard suddenly capsized in the Wardha River in Maharashtra's Amravati district on Tuesday morning. As per the early inputs, bodies of three people have been recovered while the search operation is underway. 

According to media reports, the tragic incident happened at around 10 a.m. when the boat was sailing to the opposite bank of the river near Shrikshetra Jhunjh. Upn hearing the cries for help, several villagers jumped into the river to save the victims and alerted the local police under the jurisdiction of Benoda Shaheed Police Station of Amravati.

Prima facie, it appears that the boat was overloaded and was unable to sustain the weight of its occupants.

Local police, along with teams of divers and the villagers, have launched a massive search operation. So far, bodies of three people have been recovered. The deceased have been identified as Narayan Matare (45), Kiran Khandare (28), and two-year old Vanshika Shivankar.

Nisha Matare, Piyush Matare, Aditi Khandare, Mohini Khandare, Ashwini Khandare, Vrishali Waghmare, Atul Waghmare, and Poonam Shivankar are still missing and feared to be drowned over four hours after the incident.

According to reports, the majority of the victims are said to be from a single clan who had gone to the Mahadev Temple in Varud area to perform a puja.

(This is a developing story. More details awaited.)