One drowns, 7 missing as boat capsizes in Gopalganj

PATNA: A woman drowned and eight others went missing when a country boat ferrying over 12 people capsized in the Gandak river in Gopalganj district on Saturday.
The body of a woman, Usha Devi (30) was fished out by the locals from the river. Four people swam to safety while eight others, including three women, were yet to be traced.
The incident took place around 9am when residents of Kotwa and Rajokhar Nawada villages under the Jadhopur police station area were crossing the Gandak river to reach Hirapakar diara.
The boatman lost balance due to overloading and the boat capsized in the river before it reached Mehandia ghat.
On getting information, Gopalganj sub-divisional officer Upendra Kumar Pal reached the spot and launched rescue operation. He confirmed the death of Usha, a resident of Kotwa in Gopalganj district.
“Prima facie it appears to be a case of overloading. The boat was ferrying more people than its capacity,” Pal said, adding local divers have been pressed into service to recover the bodies.
Those missing were identified as Hiralal (35), Anjali Kumari (25), Ajit Kumar (24), Rohit Kumar (35), his wife Nirmala Devi (30), Rajkali Devi (40) and her son Sachin (23).
However, Pintu Lal, Prabhnath Prasad, Sunil Kumar and Vimlawati Devi swam to safety. Majority of the victims were daily workers who were crossing the river to collect fodder for cattle.