At least seven people were reportedly killed after a boat carrying around 50 people capsized in the Mahanadi river in Odisha's Jharsuguda district on Saturday. The incident had occurred on Friday.
The reports said a search and rescue operation has been launched to locate missing persons. Earlier, it was said that around six to seven persons were missing.
The boat was carrying passengers from Bargarh district's Bandhipali area, when midway through the journey it encountered turbulent waters, leading it to capsize near Saradha Ghat in Jharsuguda.
On Friday evening, the officials had said the search operation for the missing people with aid from the Jharsuguda district administration, as well as from the state government has been launched.
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Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 4 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.
A local BJP leader Suresh Pujari has reportedly alleged the "boat was operating without a valid licence".
"It was not accorded a fitness certificate by the authorities concerned and there was no lifeguard on it," he was quoted as saying by the PTI news agency.
He also claimed that the boat was overcrowded and was carrying passengers beyond its capacity.
Meanwhile, district authorities said that the incident will be investigated.
