Kota Boat tragedy: Two more bodies recovered, death toll rises to 13

With two more bodies of minor girls recovered from Chambal river, the death toll in the Kota boat tragedy rose to 13. The boat carrying over 30 devotees to a temple in Rajasthan's Bundi district had capsized in the Chambal river on Wednesday morning.

Kota: The death toll in the Rajasthan boat tragedy rose to 13 as bodies of two minor girls were recovered from the Chambal river in Kota on Thursday, an official said.

Those who died in the tragedy included six men, four women and three minor girls, according to police. The boat carrying over 30 devotees to a temple in Rajasthan's Bundi district had capsized in the Chambal river on Wednesday morning. The accident took place around 8.45 am near Gotra village under the Khatoli police station, about 110 kilometres from Kota district headquarters. Kota District Collector Ujjaval Rathore said the two bodies were recovered on Thursday morning.

Kota SP (Rural) Sharad Choudhary said the rescue operation by the NDRF and the SDRF concluded after the recovery of the two bodies, pushing the death toll to 13. The SP said to avert such a mishap in future, a list of boats has been compiled and only those with a valid licence and fitness certificate from the Road Transport Department will be allowed to ferry people.

The other boats not meeting the specifications will be seized within the next two days, the SP added. Meanwhile, area DSP Shubhkara said the rescue operation concluded after a thorough search in an area of 15 kilometres.

READ: Chambal river tragedy: Case registered against 5 in Rajasthan

However, a 10-member SDRF team has been asked to stay at the spot for any possible recovery, the DSP said. The two minor girls whose bodies were recovered from the river on Thursday have been identified as Jyoti (13) and Alka (15).

The bodies were recovered from around one and a half kilometres away from the spot where the boat capsized, the DSP said. The bodies were handed over to families after autopsy, he added.

Khatoli SHO Narayan Singh said they have booked five people for causing deaths due to negligence under Section 304 (A) of the IPC. Four of them have been identified as Mahendra Meena, Hemraj, Modulal and Vinod.

The 13 devotees killed in the boat tragedy included six men, four women and three minor girls while 20 people were rescued, he added. Kota Range IG Ravi Dutt Gour also visited the spot on Thursday morning and took stock of the situation.

PTI