46 feared dead as tourist ferry overturns in Godavari

RAJAHMUNDRY (ANDHRA PRADESH): Forty-six people were feared dead on Sunday in one of the worst riverine tragedies in the country in recent times when a private ferry carrying tourists to the picturesque Papikonda hills in Andhra Pradesh capsized midstream in the Godavari flowing at the danger mark on Sunday afternoon.
Twenty-six passengers were rescued from the swollen river by residents of East Godavari district’s Kuchuluru village. Eight bodies had been fished out till evening, while 38 were still missing.

There were 72 people, including nine crew members, on board Royal Vashistha which was moving against the current of the river when it overturned. None of the bodies fished out had life jackets on them. The survivors, all wearing safety vests, said the others had taken them off as it was sweltering.
This is the worst tragedy in the river since 60 people died when a boat sank in 1964.
Andhra tourism minister Avanti Srinivas claimed the boat, which had no licence, also had no permission to run tourist trips at this time when the river was in spate and that the operators had ignored a clear warning sign at Dhowlaiswaram barrage.
CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who reviewed relief and rescue operations, announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, while his Telangana counterpart, K Chandrasekhar Rao, announced Rs 5 lakh.
The government ordered suspension of boating operations in the river — they had resumed only on Friday — following the tragedy. Officials were directed to check the licences of all boats in the area and whether their staffers were adequately trained.
Tourists mainly from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
The tourists drawn from various parts of Andhra and Telangana — Warangal district had the largest contingent of tourists, followed by Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad — had boarded the double-decker ferry at Gandi Pochamma temple jetty point and had breakfast at a village. They were proceeding to Perantalapalle, a famous tourist spot, when people in the double-decker ferry started moving from its lower to upper deck, thereby causing the ferry to lose its balance.
At this point, the boat tilted to one side and the crew directed the occupants not to crowd at one place.
“As water began entering the lower deck, I started distributed life jackets, but the ferry soon overturned,” Suresh, a survivor said. “All those with life jackets were saved by villagers, who were on the bank,” he added.
Two NDRF and SDRF teams comprising 100 personnel are scouting the river to rescue any survivor.
In Video:Andhra Pradesh: Boat carrying over 60 people capsizes in Godavari river, several dead

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