GUWAHATI: Ten people, including six minors and two women, died while two others were injured when three boats capsized in a storm over the Sabon river at Goalpara in Assam on Sunday evening.
Five of the victims belonged to one family while three belonged to another. They were all from two villages in western Assam’s Goalpara district bordering Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills.
Official sources said the tragedy struck when the victims were returning after witnessing a boat race on the Jinjiram river at Nidanpur in West Garo Hills.
“The victims were returning in three boats. All of them capsized in the storm. Nine bodies were retrieved by Sunday night while another was recovered early Monday morning,” Haque Mehtabul Farooq, who is a senior official of the state disaster management authority, told New Indian Express.
He said there were conflicting reports as regards the number of people in the three boats. “Some people claimed there were over 100 while others said there were 37,” he said.
One youngster, who was among the survivors, told reporters, “The weather suddenly changed and heavy winds started blowing followed by rain. There was a huge wave and the boats capsized. Some of us managed to swim ashore and informed the local people and they rescued some people.”
The storm damaged houses and uprooted trees in central and western Assam. In Guwahati, a 100 ft bamboo idol of Durga collapsed. The gigantic structure was set to enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest bamboo sculpture ever made.