A total of 38 people were rescued and two remained missing after a boat capsized in the Rupnarayan river in East Midnapore district of West Bengal on Monday morning around 8 am.
“One or two persons were missing after the mishap. Apart from district police, a hovercraft of the Coast Guards were deployed in the rescue operations,” said transport minister Suvendu Adhikari.
District magistrate Partha Ghosh’s announcement of the rescue of 38 persons brought the estimated number of passengers on board the ill-fated vessel to around 40. It is not known how many persons the vessel in question was capable of carrying, but locals say that such commuter boats frequently overload their decks with fare-paying passengers.
The boat was sailing to Amritberia from Mayachar in East Midnapore district, when it got caught in the oncoming high tide and capsized.
Prabir Pramanik, a local, said after the mishap, several men managed to swim ashore.
The minister ordered that a police complaint be lodged against Lakshman Pal, the owner of the boat, since he was not supposed to operate ferry services in inclement weather. “I am told that Pal did not have even a license to ferry passengers across the river,” said the minister.
