17th September, 2019
The death toll from a boat accident in southern India rose to 30 on Tuesday as more bodies were recovered, even as 16 people were still missing, officials said.
The tourist boat tipped over in the Godavari river on Sunday after colliding with a rock formation.
Search operations by navy divers and rescue workers were halted on Monday due to heavy rains and strong currents in the river.
“In the search operations that resumed on Tuesday morning, 19 more bodies have been found, taking the toll to 30,” state disaster management services official Sudhakar Reddy said by phone.
Twenty-seven people were rescued or swam to safety. Sixteen people are still missing, Reddy said, adding that search operations were continuing at the site.
The passengers, mostly domestic tourists, were on the way to a popular tourist destination in the region.
State officials ordered a probe into the accident.
Every year, scores of people drown in boat tragedies across India, which are mostly blamed on overcrowding, poor maintenance of vessels and lax safety rules.
In May last year, some 30 people were killed after a boat capsized in the Godavari, not far from the scene of Sunday’s accident.