Boat capsizes in the Ganga in Bihar's Vaishali; 13 dead, most of them children

A boat carrying villagers to a feast capsized in the Ganga in Bihar's Vaishali district on the evening of Tuesday, October 13, and at least 13 people drowned, most of them children, according to reports by The Kathmandu Post (Reuters), Scroll.in and Telangana Today (IANS).

What happened

The boat overturned near Rampur Shyamchand village in the Raghopur police station area, IANS reports. District Magistrate Varsha Singh told media the boat overturned while carrying passengers to a feast in a neighboring village, per Reuters. Local residents rushed to help, and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), district police and local divers joined the search, according to IANS and Scroll. An SDRF sub-inspector told Scroll the search was continuing with six boats.

Where the reports differ

• Rescued: Reuters says six people were saved; Scroll says seven had been rescued as of Tuesday night.
• Number on board: IANS says the boat carried 20 to 30 people. A second Telangana Today report says preliminary information put 15 to 20 aboard and about six injured, and that at least 13 died, including eight children, with the final count awaiting confirmation.
• Deaths: Reuters, Scroll and IANS all give 13.

Cause

No report read gives a confirmed cause. Police are investigating, Reuters reports. Scroll and Telangana Today report that the damaged boat, which had been temporarily repaired with plastic sheets, was found. IANS reports villagers said the boat was old and in poor condition and that requests to replace it had gone unanswered, and that there are suspicions it carried more passengers than its capacity; it says these claims are unverified. Preliminary reports say the boat lost stability on reaching the river's main current, per IANS. Scroll says the administration said night boat operations had been restricted and the circumstances would be investigated.

Response

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced ₹2 lakh from the PM's National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each deceased person and ₹50,000 for each injured person, per Scroll. Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary announced ₹4 lakh for each deceased person's family. Scroll reports that residents shouted slogans against the district administration when the district magistrate visited the hospital. Union Minister Chirag Paswan, whose constituency includes the site, said he had spoken to the district magistrate and planned to visit, according to IANS. A Bihar minister said Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, whose constituency is Raghopur, should visit the affected families, per a separate Telangana Today report.

The cause, the number of people on board, and the final casualty count are not settled in the reports read. Headlines of later reports in the record say 14 children died, that a senior officer was suspended, and that police found the boat had a hole and was overloaded; those reports could not be opened for this article.