AP-BOAT 3RD LD CAPSIZE

8 dead, 25 missing as boat carrying tourists capsizes in river
in AP
(Eds: Revises toll, adds details, combines reax)
Amaravati (AP), Sept 15 (PTI) A private boat carrying
around 60 tourists capsized in swollen Godavari river in
Andhra Pradesh, leaving at least eight people dead and 25
others missing on Sunday, the state government said.
As many as 27 people survived the tragedy and were
brought to safety, the state Diasaster Management Authority
(SDMA) said in a release late tonight.
The boat 'Royal Vasishta' was on its way to the
picturesque Papikondalu tourist spot in the middle of the
river when it met with the accident, apparently on colliding
with a large rock formation, at Kachchuluru in East Godavari
District, about 200 km from here.
Quoting initial reports, police earlier said 12 bodies
had been retrieved, but the SDMA later put the toll at eight.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit
Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi, Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan, Chief
Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy among others expressed grief
over the tragedy.
A team of deep divers from the Indian Navy reached the
accident spot at Kachhuluru and joined the National Disaster
Response Force and State Disaster Response Force personnel in
the search for the missing passengers.
The river has been in spate for the past few days and
over 5.13 lakh cusecs of floodwater was flowing on Sunday when
the mishap occurred.
Most of the tourists were from Hyderabad and Warrangal in
neighbouring Telangana and state chief minister K
Chandrasekhar Rao announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh each
to the bereaved families from his state and deputed ministers
to coordinate in the relief works and help the injured.
Though the number of deceased from Telangana was yet to
be confirmed, at least 14 people from Warangal district and
Hyderabad are missing in the incident, officials said in the
state capital.
Though the boat has license, it was not yet clear whether
it had the required permission to ferry tourists since all
boat operations in the river have been prohibited because of
the flood.
The Prime Minister in a tweet said: "Extremely pained by
the capsizing of a boat in Andhra Pradesh's East Godavari. My
thoughts are with the bereaved families."
He said rescue operations are currently underway at the
site of the tragedy.
"The loss of lives due to capsizing of a boat in East
Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh is very unfortunate. I am
deeply pained," Shah tweeted.
Conveying his condolences to the berevaed families,
Gandhi said on Twitter: "I pray that all those reported
missing will soon be accounted for and that they are safe."
Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief
over the tragedy.
Jagan Mohan Reddy, while expressing shock over the grave
tragedy, announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 10 lakh each to
the kin of the deceased.
The SDMA release said the boat carrying "approximately
60 passengers" capsized in Godavari river around 1.45 pm.
Out of the 60 passengers, 27 have been rescued and 25
are still missing, it said quoting a report from the
assistant project officer of Integrated Tribal Development
Agency at Rampachodavaram near the accident spot.
A helicopter of the ONGC has been pressed into service
for the rescue operation while a specialist deep divers team
from Uttarakhand with side-scan sonar equipment would reach
the accident spot on Monday, the SDMA said.
Of the 27 rescued, 16 were administered first-aid at the
area hospital in Rampachodavaram and then shifted to the
government general hospital in Rajamahendravaram for further
treatment and trauma counselling, the authority said.
Bodies of the deceased have been shifted to
Rajamahendravaram for post-mortem.
There were similar accidents at the same spot some years
ago in which several people were killed.
Two drivers of the boat, S Nukaraju and Kamaraju, were
among those killed on Sunday.
A boat coming in the opposite direction saved the day for
many people in Royal Vasishta, as they jumped into the river
and got on to the other boat and saved themselves.
Villagers of Tutugunta in the vicinity also came to the
rescue of the boat capsize victims and saved at least five
tourists from Warangal.
A survivor, who is a resident of Uppal area in Hyderabad,
told TV channels that there were 80 people, including his
three family members, in the boat.
I have survived but there is no information about my
wife, brother-in-law, his wife and son, he said.
Among the missing were four persons from a family in
Visakhapatnam, according to police sources.
Jagan Reddy directed the East Godavari district Collector
Muralidhar Reddy to conduct a probe whether the boat had
permission to ferry passengers.
He also directed that all boat operations be suspended
forthwith, a release from the CMO said.
The Chief Minister has taken the issue very seriously.
He asked the officials to prepare a report with the help of
experts on boat operations and frame clear guidelines, it
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from a PTI feed.)