Over 14 dead as country boat capsizes in Anantapur

At least 14 people, including four women and 10 children belonging to the same family, were killed when a country boat capsized in a lake in Anantapur district on Friday.

ANANTAPUR : At least 14 people, including four women and 10 children belonging to the same family, were killed when a country boat capsized in a lake near Yerratimmaraju Cheruvu village in Guntakal mandal of Anantapur district on Friday. While one boy is missing, four others were rescued by passersby. One of the swimmers who went to retrieve the bodies, died of cardiac arrest. 

According to police, around 18 people belonging to the same family came to the residence of Talari Ramanna in the village in the morning to participate in the installation ceremony of the Dwajasthabham at Sri Rama temple on Saturday.

After lunch, they went out for a stroll along the lake where they found a country boat used by the local fishermen.

The lake has abundant water due to regular water supply from the Handri-Neeva project. Though they had no expertise in steering the boat, the family members reportedly decided to take a ride. At around 4 pm, passersby on the tank bund noticed the sinking boat in the middle of the water body and managed to rescue four persons including a girl. 

The survivors were sent to the Guntakal government hospital for treatment. Immediately upon receiving information, the villagers as well as the police rushed to the spot to retrieve the bodies. Guntakal MLA R Jitender Goud and other local leaders too rushed to help the authorities in the rescue operations. One Chandrappa (38) who came to retrieve the bodies, suffered cardiact arrest. He died on the way to hospital. 

The police said the victims were residents of Guntakal, Dhancherla, Penchalapadu and Yerratimmaraju Cheruvu villages. “The boat is used for fishing by the local fishermen and was not equipped to handle such a large number of people. We will be able to ascertain more details only after the survivors recover from shock,” said Guntakal DSP CS Ravi Kumar.

The body of a boy B Siva (7), son of one Raju, is said to be missing. Four persons - Somu (32), Boya Raju (26), Bestha Raju (25) and Sumitra (6), were rescued by the villagers. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock and announced an ex gratia of Rs 3 lakh for adult victims’ kin and Rs 1 lakh for those who lost their children. Besides, another Rs 5 lakh would be paid to each of the bereaved families under the Chandranna Bhima scheme.  

The officials were asked to complete the formalities including postmortem immediately and hand over the bodies to the relatives. YSRC president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan among others conveyed their condolences to the bereaved.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com