KOTA: The bodies of two young men were recovered after a boat carrying seven people capsized during a Durga idol immersion ceremony in a canal in Rajasthan's Kota, with rescue teams resuming the search operation on Wednesday morning.
The bodies of Suraj Singh (22) and Vikas Verma (22), both Kota residents, were recovered during the search operation that resumed at 5.30 am, ASP Kota City Subhash Chandra Mishra and SDRF officials Ekta Mahipal confirmed.
The search is underway for the two remaining missing youths, Rahul Joshi (18) and Ashu Joshi (19), who are cousins and residents of Sanjay Nagar in Kota city.
The boat capsized near Steel Bridge under the Borekheda police station limits around 5.30 pm on Tuesday during a Durga idol immersion ceremony.
Of the seven people aboard, three -- Deepak, a woman identified as Maankanwar, and the boatman, Suresh -- managed to swim to safety and were rescued by passersby.
The search operation was called off at 11.30 pm on Tuesday in accordance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) and resumed at 5.30 am on Wednesday, Mishra said.
The two recovered bodies were found close to each other, around 200 to 300 metres from the accident site, he said, adding that they were sent to a mortuary for post-mortem.
Authorities confirmed that the search for the two cousins remains active in the nearby waters as the SDRF and NDRF teams continue their concerted rescue efforts.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and state Education Minister Madan Dilawar also visited the spot on Tuesday night and supervised the search operation.
Officials said 10-12 locations along the Chambal ghats and canals had been identified for idol immersion, with rescue teams deployed and safety and security arrangements put in place at these sites.
However, Tuesday's incident occurred in an area where idol immersion was prohibited, despite the deployment of rescue teams, officials added.
