Chronology of Boat Capsize Incidents, Human Toll in Assam and India

Yet another boat tragedy in Assam left several dead and others missing in the Goalpara district on Friday. People continue to meet with watery grave despite various steps taken by the respective governments. Here is a list of various boat capsize incidents in Assam and across India along with the loss of human lives suffered in these tragedies.

Four bodies have been recovered and one person is missing after a boat capsized in Goalpara district of Assam on 12th July 2024. The incident took place in the Simlitola Narayanpara area of the Goalpara district when a country boat in which a group of villagers were being ferried, capsized in the water body. The villagers were returning from a cremation when this incident happened.

NCRB data on recent boat capsize deaths in Assam : At least 8 people died due to boat capsize accidents in Assam in 2022, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report on Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India-2022. In 2021 alone, Assam recorded 11 boat capsize incidents and one death. 15 deaths recorded in 2019. No boat capsize incidents registered in the state in 2020.

Here are some boat capsize incidents in Assam:

01.04.2024 Assam: 3, including 2 children died and two persons were reported missing after a boat capsized in the Brahmaputra river in South Salmara-Mankachar district, amid heavy rain and hailstorm across Assam.

30.09.2022 Assam: One person died and three others were injured as a boat carrying many passengers capsized in the Brahmaputra River in Assam's Dhubri district.

05.09.2018 Assam: 3 dead, 11 missing in boat capsize in Brahmaputra The incident occurred when the engine of the boat developed a snag and hit a rock near the bank of the Ashwaklanta Temple

28.09.2015 Assam: More than 50 people were feared dead after an over-packed machine boat carrying about 250 to 300 people capsized in Kolohi river in Assam’s Kamrup (rural) district.

30.04.2012 Assam: An overloaded ferry breaks in half and sinks during a storm on the Brahmaputra river in the northeastern state of Assam. At least 103 people died in the tragedy.

Here are some of India’s tragic boat accidents:

21.05.2024 Maharashtra : A boat ferrying 7 people capsized in the backwater of Ujani dam on Bhima river in Maharashtra’s Solapur district due to rough weather. The incident took place on May 21 evening following strong winds and rains when the boat was sailing from Kugav to Kalashi village. Bodies of 5 persons were fished out on 22nd May 2024.

19.04.2024 Odisha :Seven people died after a boat carrying around 50 passengers capsized in Odisha. The incident occurred on 19th April evening when a boat, mostly carrying devotees, was returning from a temple visit in Jharsuguda district in the state.

16.04.2024 Srinagar : Six people, including two children and their mother, were killed and three went missing as a boat carrying students to school capsized on the Jhelum in Gandbal near Srinagar.

18.01.2024 Gujarat : At least 14 people – 12 schoolchildren and two teachers – were killed after a seemingly overcrowded boat carrying a school group on a picnic overturned into the Harni lake in Gujarat’s Vadodara district.

07.05.2023 Kerala : 22 drown, many missing in boat tragedy in Kerala .Twenty-two people drowned when a tourist boat capsized in the Poorapuzha estuary in Malappuram district of Kerala.

08.08.2019 Maharashtra : 9 dead, as rescue boat capsizes in Maharashtra as state sees worst floods Five teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been airlifted from Punjab for rescue operations in Maharashtra.

22.01.2019 Karnataka ,8 dead as boat capsizes near Karwar; 18 rescued. There were 33 people in all on board the ill-fated ferry boat; they were returning from a local festival on Kurumgad island.

11.09. 2019 Maharashtra: 17 bodies have been recovered following the boat tragedy from Sangli district.

15.01.2019 Maharashtra :6 drown as boat capsizes in Narmada river perform a river worship ritual on the occasion of Makar Sankranti when it capsized.

15.07.2018 Andhra Pradesh : A day after a boat carrying 33 people capsized in the river Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, six girls, all school students, and a 35-year-old woman could not be found despite multiple teams trying to locate survivors.

16 05.2018 Andhra Pradesh : At least 15 people are missing after a boat capsized in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

31.01.2018 Bihar: In a tragic incident in Bihar's Patna at least five persons drowned and several others were missing when a boat carrying 15 people capsized in River Ganga in Fatuha.

06.05.2018 Bihar: Altogether four children died and seven others injured when a poorly maintained boat taking kids home after a fest capsized in Begusarai

13 01.2018 Maharashtra: Three school students die after a boat carrying 40 school students capsized off the Indian coast near Mumbai. The boat had been overcrowded and the pupils were not wearing lifejackets, the Times of India reported. Two of those who died were reported to be aged 17.

13.11.2017 Andhra Pradesh: Rescuers find bodies of 16 pilgrims At least 16 people have drowned after their boat capsized in Andhra Pradesh. Police say 38 people were on board the vessel, many of them on their way to a religious festival.Twenty people survived the accident on the Krishna river near

Vijayawada, about 275km (170 miles) from Hyderabad.

14.09.2017 Uttar Pradesh : At least 19 people drowned in Yamuna river as their boat capsized while going to Haryana from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh. About 50 people were on the boat, which had a capacity of just 35. Ten people swam to safety while about 31 passengers werw missing.

14.01.2017 Uttar Pradesh :At least 23 people were killed and seven others injured when a boat carrying around 40 people back from a kite festival organised by the state government, capsized in the Ganga river, opposite the NIT Ghat in Patna.

May 14, 2016 West Bengal : An overloaded boat capsized, minutes after it set sail from Kalna in Burdwan district and was heading for Shantipur in Nadia. Nineteen bodies were recovered from the Bhagirathi river by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnels.

07.11.2014 Uttar Pradesh: Ten people, nine of them children, were feared drowned after a boat capsized in the river Ganga at Raalpur Ghat in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli district.

09.02.2014 Odisha: At least 11 people, including women and children, were killed and several others went missing after a motor boat carrying about 120 passengers capsized in the reservoir of the Hirakud Dam in Odisha.

26.01.2014 Andaman and Nicobar: At least 21 people have died after a boat carrying tourists capsized in the Bay of Bengal off the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

25.12.2011 Andhra Pradesh: Twenty-two persons died after the boat in which they went on a pleasure trip capsized in Pulicat Lake.

22.05.2011 Uttar Pradesh: At least 12 persons, including three members of a family were feared drowned, when the boat on which they were travelliing capsized in the Ganga under Manda police circle.

27.12.2010 Tamil Nadu: A boat tragedy in Bay of Bengal off the Tamil Nadu coast killed 15.

14.06.2010 Uttar Pradesh: More than 75 people were feared dead when an overcrowded boat ferrying around 100 passengers capsized in eastern Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district.

September 2009 Bihar: In Bihar, at least 60 people, including 34 children, drowned when a boat capsized in the Bagmati river.

30.09.2009 Kerala: 45 people died when a double-decked boat capsized in Lake Thekkady in the Periyar National Park.

20.02.2007 Kerala: Fifteen school children and three teachers drowned when 103 students of the St. Stephen’s School in Angamaly district were returning from a picnic to the Bhoothathankettu reservoir. At Thattakedu, 70km from Kochi, one of the boats capsized, drowning 15 students, aged between 10 and 12, and three teachers.

15.10.2005 Uttar Pradesh: Around 56 labourers on an overcrowded boat drowned when their boat capsized in a river in Ballia.

20.07.2002 Bihar: More than 24 people were feared drowned in a boat accident in Chapra district. The boat, which was carrying over 60 people, capsized midstream on its way to Muzaffarpur.