Uttar Pradesh: Three including two kids drown after boat carrying 25 people capsizes

(By Pathikrit Chakraborty)
LUCKNOW: Three children were drowned in Sivli river in Mohammadpur Khala police station area of Barabanki after the boat they were riding capsized on Tuesday.
The deceased were identified as Ritu (18), Priyanka (5) and Himanshu (8).
Police said that a group of 25 villagers were going to visit Ghaghara fair on a boat that is organized on Kartik Purnima in Mohammadpur Khala police station area of the district.
According to eyewitnesses, the boat staggered in the middle of the stream and suddenly capsized. Those on the boat raised an alarm following which some fishermen jumped in the river instantly and others informed the police.
SP Barabanki Anurag Vats said that the local police rushed to the spot and even pressed divers into services to rescue the villagers.
“Some were rescued by the villagers and others by the divers, and some also swam back” he said.
However, unfortunately two children and an 18-year-old girl could not swim and drowned, we have retrieved the bodies of them, he said.
SDRF teams and divers are at the spot and are carrying out the rescue operation while a huge number of villagers are flocked to the scene.
District Magistrate Barabanki, Avinash Kumar said that the government will provide a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the family of the deceased. “The teams are also finding out if the boat capsized due to being overweight,” he said.
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