At least 10 people from Punjab’s Ludhiana district drowned in the Yamuna River in the Hindu holy town of Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh on Friday afternoon, after one of the two boats they had hired for an outing capsized and the other two also fell.
Police said the group that rented the boat at Kishi Ghat consisted of 30 people; At least 16 people had been rescued at the time of the last update, and 10 bodies had been recovered. It is learned that most of the victims belong to Jagraon town in Ludhiana.
“It appears that one of the boats went out of control and lost its balance after colliding with a pontoon bridge on the river,” said Shaish Pandey, deputy inspector general of Agra district police. He added that the tragedy occurred around three in the afternoon. But the exact reason will be determined after proper investigation,” Pandey said.
Floating parts of the dismantled bridge
The floating bridge was recently dismantled due to rising water levels, but some floating drums are still floating in the river, and the boat is believed to have hit one of them, news agency PTI reported, citing authorities.
Eyewitnesses told the media that the boat began to sway violently due to the stormy winds, then its speed increased before it collided with a pontoon, causing it to capsize. The agency added that officials said the boat collided with a floating pontoon left behind after the bridge was recently dismantled.
What did DM say?
The group on the boat was part of a larger group of 132 tourists who came in two buses from Ludhiana and Muktsar districts in Punjab to visit Mathura city and Vrindavan in Mathura district.
“Those who were rescued are out of danger. Two or three of them required oxygen supply, but they are in a stable condition now,” Chandra Prakash Singh, district magistrate, told HT. “A total of 16 to 17 people have been safely rescued so far. Efforts are continuing to locate the missing persons,” the ministry said earlier, adding that all the tourists on board the ship were from Punjab.
Medical authorities at Vrindavan Combined Hospital said that among the deceased were six men and four women.
Rescue operations are underway with teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and about 50 local divers deployed at the site. Army soldiers from a neighboring unit also joined them.
Helpline has been set up in Ludhiana
In the victims’ home state of Punjab, Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain urged residents not to spread rumours, and said the Punjab government was in touch with authorities in Vrindavan.
A dedicated 24X7 helpline has also been set up – at 0162-422-3226 (SDM, Jagraon) and 0161-240-3100 (DC office).
Special teams comprising civilian and police officers have already been sent to Vrindavan to improve coordination between authorities, he added.
