At least nine people have died after a cruise boat capsized in Madhya Pradesh’s Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district during a sudden storm on Thursday evening. A total of 22 people have been rescued so far.
Officials said the boat, carrying 29 passengers and two crew members, was caught in rough weather while returning after an evening outing on the reservoir. Strong winds led to water entering the vessel, which subsequently overturned.
Rescue operations continued on Friday with teams from the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) deployed at the site. Hydraulic cranes were also pressed into service to retrieve the overturned boat from the water body.
A paramilitary diving team engaged in the rescue operation told news agency PTI that recovery efforts inside the submerged vessel were severely hampered by broken structures, iron rods and poor visibility. Rescuers said the cramped and damaged interior made movement extremely difficult and hazardous.
The diving team said it made a distressing discovery while retrieving bodies from the wreckage, finding a woman still clutching her child in a final embrace. “We initially faced difficulty retrieving the body. Later we found she was holding her child tightly, and it was very difficult to separate them,” a diver said, according to PTI.
Officials said five bodies have been recovered by the paramilitary diving team so far, including one child and four adults.
Delhi resident Sangeeta Kori, one of the survivors rescued from the accident, told PTI that she and her family had taken a spontaneous trip to the dam. She alleged that safety measures were inadequate on the vessel and that panic broke out as conditions worsened.
Kori claimed that life jackets were not worn by passengers at the time and were distributed only after water began entering the boat, triggering chaos. She also alleged that the vessel may have been carrying more passengers than permitted, including children without tickets.
She further alleged negligence on the part of the operator, saying warnings from people on the shore were ignored as conditions deteriorated rapidly.
Officials said 22 have been rescued so far, while efforts are on to trace those still missing. Madhya Pradesh Tourism Minister Dharmendra Bhav Singh Lodhi said a probe will be conducted after the rescue operation concludes, and strict action will be taken against those found responsible.
(With inputs from PTI)