Date | 14 January 2017 |
---|---|
Time | Around 18:00 ( IST) [1] |
Location | Ganges, Patna, Bihar State, India |
Cause | Overcrowding |
Participants | 40+ |
Deaths | 25 |
On 14 January 2017, a boat carrying more than 40 passengers capsized in the Ganges in the Indian city of Patna, Bihar, killing 25 people. [1] [2] The boat was about to reach the bank when it capsized. [3] Overloading is suspected to be the cause of the accident. [2]
The boat was returning from a kite-flying festival on an island called Ganga Diyara in the middle of the Ganges, as part of the Makar Sankranti celebration in the city of Patna. [3] [4] [5] The small boat, which was overloaded with passengers, [3] was about to reach the bank when it capsized. [3] The boat's capacity was 30 people, but estimates from local officials placed its actual load at 40 to 50. [6]
Rescue operations located 19 bodies on 14 January, and five more on 15 January before they ended once, according to local police, there were no more outstanding missing persons. [6] Nine people were retrieved from the river by rescuers, [5] while about a dozen swam to shore. [6] Eight people were hospitalized [6] at the Patna Medical College and Hospital(PMCH) [5]
The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, announced an ex gratia payment from the Prime Minister National Relief Fund of ₹2 lakh for the next of kin of those who died in the boat accident and ₹50 thousand for those seriously injured. [1] [7] Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also announced that compensation of ₹4 lakh will be given to relatives of each of the dead. [4]