NEW DELHI, May 4 — The death toll in the cruise capsizing incident in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has risen to 13, officials said on Monday.
The cruise capsized at Bargi Dam on Thursday in Jabalpur district, about 340 km east of Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh. According to the police, 28 people were rescued.
“Yesterday, the bodies of a five-year-old child and his uncle were found floating and fished out of the dam.
With this, the death toll in the tragedy has risen to 13,” a senior police official said Monday. “All 13 have been identified and the bodies sent to a government hospital for postmortem.”
Initially, the officials said 29 local tourists and two crew members were on the cruise.
However, local media reports said the closed-circuit television camera footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat. So far, the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed.
Officials said the vessel carrying people was navigating the water when it was suddenly struck by powerful winds, causing it to lose balance and capsize, leading to the deaths.
Following the incident, authorities rushed police and teams from the State Disaster Response Force to the site to carry out rescue efforts.
Later on, teams comprising around 20 Indian army divers airlifted from Agra, Uttar Pradesh, along with personnel from the National Disaster Response Force and local divers, were involved in the search operation.
The cruise, around 20 years old, was operated by the state tourism department. Meanwhile, the local government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members.
It also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
Officials said the Bargi Dam, located on the Narmada river, hosts a resort managed by the Madhya Pradesh tourism department and offers a range of water sports activities. (Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
