MP boat capsize: Bodies of six people, including three children, recovered, search on for teenage girl
MP boat capsize: The boat was carrying 15 residents from Rajavan village, who were on their way to visit the Siddh Baba temple, located on an island in the middle of the dam.
MP boat capsize: The authorities on Wednesday recovered the bodies of six people, including three children, who drowned after a boat capsized in the Matatila Dam in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, police said. The search operation is still underway to locate a missing teenage girl.
The incident took place on Tuesday evening when a boat carrying 15 people was headed to a temple located on an island in the Matatila Dam, under the jurisdiction of Khaniyadhana police station, officials said.
While eight individuals were rescued with the help of local villagers, seven others were reported missing in the water, they added.
15-year-old girl missing
Pichhore's Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Prashant Sharma said, "The rescue operations were carried out throughout the night and the bodies of six missing persons were recovered till Wednesday afternoon. Search for a 15-year-old missing girl named Kumkum is still on."
He further said that the bodies of six deceased, identified as Kanha (7), Shiva (8), Chayna (14), Ramdevi (35), Leela (40) and Sharda (55), were recovered.
Ramdevi, a survivor, said water started gushing into the boat from the bottom, causing it to tilt on one side within no time. She said although she did not know how to swim, she just started moving her hands in the water out of desperation, and a boat arrived in time to save her. Ramdevi said that she was pulled into the boat which came to rescue the victims.
Shivpuri district collector on incident
Speaking to reporters at the incident site, Shivpuri District Collector Ravindra Kumar Chaudhary said that although rescue teams made efforts to locate the missing persons overnight, the bodies were recovered on Wednesday. "People go to the temple located on the island in the dam to offer prayers, especially during the Holi and Rang Panchmi festivals," he said.
"The boat involved in the incident was a small, wooden boat. The incident could have been caused either due to water entering the boat or its imbalance," he said.
The collector stated that the administration will implement measures to prevent such incidents in the future. He also announced that those who helped rescue the eight individuals would be rewarded for their bravery.
On Tuesday night, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased.
(With agencies input)
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