At least 11 bodies were recovered while five people have been rescued at Khatlapura Ghat in Bhopal after the boat they were in capsized this morning during Ganesh immersion. The search operation is underway.
"Five people have been rescued out of 16 and we have recovered 11 bodies till now. A search operation is underway and we are trying to rescue other people as well. According to the locals, only these many people had drowned here, but we are still searching in case we find some other people," said Akhil Patel, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP).
"This incident occurred at around 4:30 in the morning. At least 40 police personnel are present at the spot along with other authorities and professional swimmers. State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) team is also present at the spot," he added.
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Those drowned were members of the Ganesh immersion committee and they all were youngsters. This incident is extremely saddening. As told by the authorities, the people who have drowned were taking a huge Ganesha idol in the boat and while they were immersing it, the boat they were sitting in got tilted and later capsized," said PC Sharma, MP Law Minister.
An ex-gratia of Rs four lakh has been announced by the district collector for the families of those who drowned and died on Friday morning.
"Despite proper security arrangements, this incident took place so we will investigate the matter and try to find out the reason behind this mishap. Collector has announced an ex-gratia of Rs four lakh for the kin of those drowned and died," he added.
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(ANI)
