103 bodies found after ferry tragedy
Source: Agencies |
May 2, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Army divers and rescue workers pulled 103 bodies out of a river after a packed ferry capsized in heavy winds and rain in remote northeast India, an official said yesterday.
At least 100 people were still missing last night after the ferry carrying about 350 people broke into two pieces on Monday night, said Pritam Saikia, district magistrate of Goalpara district.
Deep-sea divers and disaster rescue soldiers worked through the night to pull bodies from the Brahmaputra River in Assam state.
Rescue operations were being coordinated from the tiny village of Buraburi near the India-Bangladesh border.
Heavy winds and rain hampered rescue operations, said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Assam's top elected official.
"I will be ordering an inquiry into the cause of the accident, but right now our priority is to account for every person who was on the ferry," Gogoi told reporters.
Around 150 passengers swam to safety or were rescued by villagers, said Saikia, who was supervising rescue operations.
Divers and rescue workers with rubber rafts scoured the river yesterday in a search for survivors amid floating debris from the ferry.
Passenger Hasnat Ali told local television the ferry was tossed about in the storm and he and others who were on the roof were thrown off or managed to swim ashore before it capsized.
But about 200 people were inside the ferry along with cargo.
Another passenger told New Delhi Television there was no lifeguard or lifeboats on the vessel.
The accident occurred near Fakiragram village in west Dhubri district, about 350 kilometers west of the state capital, Gauhati, and close to where the Brahmaputra River enters Bangladesh.
The area is dotted with riverside settlements and islands, and boats are the most common mode of transport.
Most ferries are overcrowded, and little regard is paid to safety regulations.
Soldiers and members of India's disaster response team pulled the remains of the ferry from the river using ropes tied to two tractors.
Hundreds of anxious people, many weeping, waited for hours near Buraburi, looking for their loved ones.
Indian authorities have sought the help of their Bangladeshi counterparts to locate bodies that may have been swept away by the river's fast current.
At least 100 people were still missing last night after the ferry carrying about 350 people broke into two pieces on Monday night, said Pritam Saikia, district magistrate of Goalpara district.
Deep-sea divers and disaster rescue soldiers worked through the night to pull bodies from the Brahmaputra River in Assam state.
Rescue operations were being coordinated from the tiny village of Buraburi near the India-Bangladesh border.
Heavy winds and rain hampered rescue operations, said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Assam's top elected official.
"I will be ordering an inquiry into the cause of the accident, but right now our priority is to account for every person who was on the ferry," Gogoi told reporters.
Around 150 passengers swam to safety or were rescued by villagers, said Saikia, who was supervising rescue operations.
Divers and rescue workers with rubber rafts scoured the river yesterday in a search for survivors amid floating debris from the ferry.
Passenger Hasnat Ali told local television the ferry was tossed about in the storm and he and others who were on the roof were thrown off or managed to swim ashore before it capsized.
But about 200 people were inside the ferry along with cargo.
Another passenger told New Delhi Television there was no lifeguard or lifeboats on the vessel.
The accident occurred near Fakiragram village in west Dhubri district, about 350 kilometers west of the state capital, Gauhati, and close to where the Brahmaputra River enters Bangladesh.
The area is dotted with riverside settlements and islands, and boats are the most common mode of transport.
Most ferries are overcrowded, and little regard is paid to safety regulations.
Soldiers and members of India's disaster response team pulled the remains of the ferry from the river using ropes tied to two tractors.
Hundreds of anxious people, many weeping, waited for hours near Buraburi, looking for their loved ones.
Indian authorities have sought the help of their Bangladeshi counterparts to locate bodies that may have been swept away by the river's fast current.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
