4 more bodies found, Patna boat capsize toll rise to 24
PATNA: Four more bodies were fished out of the Ganga on Sunday, taking the toll in Saturday’s boat capsize in Patna to 24.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which was pressed into service for rescue operation on Saturday evening, retrieved the four bodies on Sunday morning.
“We have deployed eight divers to search for more bodies,” NDRF commandant Vijay Sinha said. “We could anchor one boat which capsized, but are unable to locate the second boat. The media has been agog with reports that two boats were involved in the tragedy,” he added.
Among the bodies recovered on Sunday were those of a 40-year-old man, a teenager, a youth in his early 20s, and a child, said Sinha.
The NDRF was also using a ‘maha jaal’ (large net) to fish out bodies.
The commandant said boats were also dispatched downstream to Deedarganj, 15-20 km from the accident site, to check for more bodies.
Meanwhile, relatives of victims said they were dissatisfied with the arrangements at the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH), where the bodies were sent for autopsy.
Relatives complained that dignity eluded even in death, as there was no place in the hospital to keep the corpses, which were lying on the floor.
Ten of the injured, admitted on Saturday evening, were discharged on Sunday.
Principal secretary disaster management department, Pratyaya Amrit, who was camping at the site, said, “Twenty four bodies have so far been recovered. We have asked the NDRF to search downstream for more bodies and the second possible boat as well.”
Two country boats, carrying around 40 persons back from a kite festival on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, reportedly capsised in the Ganga opposite NIT Ghat on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, a blame game has started over the incident.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar has ordered an inquiry, while the BJP blamed him for the tragedy. BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi demanded that an FIR be filed against the chief minister.
He alleged that arrangements were woefully inadequate for the kite festival, hosted by the culture department on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.