Six bodies found in search operation

■ AS 26 tourists survived the mishap with the help of local people, 13 tourists are yet to be found. ■ TOURISTS WHO are yet to be found, are believed to be stuck in the AC compartment of the boat

As many as six dead bodies of tourists from the sunken private tourist boat were traced in various parts along the course of Godavari river on the fourth day on Wednesday.

The authorities say that the total number of people, including crew members, travelling in the boat on the day of mishap on September 15, were believed to be 73. Of them, 34 bodies have been found so far. As 26 tourists survived the mishap with the help of local people, 13 tourists are yet to be found.

Post-mortems were conducted on all the retrieved bodies at various government hospitals and they were handed them over to their family members to perform last rites at their native places.

Two persons from Mumbai-based Marine Masters Company Private Limited have been engaged to retrieve the dead bodies of the tourists from the river. Their services are also being used to retrieve the capsized boat from the river bed. They are working out various options on how to salvage boat.

On the other hand, several tourists who are yet to be found, are believed to be stuck in the air-conditioned compartment of the sunken tourist boat. Some of the bodies found on the fourth day were in a state of decomposition and the authorities fear that as the days pass by, the bodies, possibly stuck in the boat, will get decomposed further.

However, based on their dress and other belongings like ornaments worn on the body, mobile phones, ID cards, the authorities are hopeful about being able to identify them, provided they are retrieved from the boat.