GUWAHATI: Six persons, including children, were reported missing after a motorised boat capsized in the Brahmaputra on Tuesday.
The incident occurred while the boat was travelling from Rohampur to Borghul in Assam’s Barpeta district. The police said the boat had 36 people.
“Six people, including three to four children, are missing. The passengers were going to a place to attend a family event,” Senior Superintendent of Police Sushanta Biswa Sarma told TNIE.
Those who survived either swam ashore or were rescued by fishermen and locals. The boat allegedly did not have sufficient life jackets. Witnesses said it sank during the incident, and no trace of it was found.
A search operation was conducted by the State Disaster Response Force along with Barpeta police and fishermen to rescue the missing persons. The operation, which was suspended after the fall of darkness, will be resumed on Wednesday morning. The National Disaster Response Force is likely to join.
Boat mishaps have become common in Assam.
In June last year, a motorised boat with over 100 people had partially sunk in a Brahmaputra tributary in Nalbari district when its roof collapsed.