Boat capsizes in Saryu river, six drown

The passengers decided to row the boat themselves as they saw no boatman. The base of the boat was broken, said additional DM Santosh Rai.

Six persons, including three minors, drowned after the boat they were travelling in capsized in Saryu river at Bahraich district Saturday morning.

The deceased have been identified as Shakil (12), Vijay (16), Mangan (17), Brijesh (20) and Tirathram (20) and Rajesh (25). They belonged to Behta and Bedhna villages of the district.

In all, nine persons were on the boat. They were returning from a fair at a nearby village. “As there was no boatman, the young boys rowed the boat themselves. Three of them swam to the bank of the river while six died. All bodies have been fished out,” District Magistrate Ajay Deep Singh said.

He added that the incident occurred around 5 am near Behta village. “They had an option to reach their village through a bridge, but to save time, they decided to cross the river on a boat,” said the DM.
Additional DM Santosh Rai added: “We later found the base of the boat lying broken.”

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has condoled the loss of lives and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the family of each deceased. “Families of three of the deceased will also get 5 lakh each under the chief minister’s Farmer and Sarvhit Insurance scheme, as it is meant for those above the age of 18 years,” said the DM.