Bhopal: Eleven people drowned when two boats carrying them capsized during Ganesh idol immersion in Lower Lake of Bhopal, a senior police official said today.
The incident took place during the wee hours of today in Khatlapura on the banks of the Lower Lake, Deputy Inspector General of Police Irshad Wali said. Eleven people died in the incident while six were rescued, Bhopal Collector Tarun Kumar Pithode said. A magisterial probe has been ordered into the incident, Pithode said.
A total of 17 people were going on two separate boats for the immersion of the Ganesh idol at Khatlapura ghat when the incident took place at around 4.30 am, the Collector said.
Initially, the first boat tilted and when the people on the other one saw it, they tried to save it, but to no avail. In the process, the other boat also tilted sideways and both capsized, an official said.
Teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), local police, and the citizens swung into action and rescued six persons, the official said.
An ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh, including an immediate relief of Rs 50,000, was announced by the collector for the kin of the deceased. The State’s Public Relations Minister P C Sharma also reached the spot.
| 18 dead in Maharashtra |
| At least 18 persons drowned in separate incidents during immersion of Ganesh idols across Maharashtra, police said today. Immersions, which began on Anant Chaturdashi on Thursday, continued into this morning in several parts of Mumbai, Pune and Sangli, officials said. Drowning incidents were reported in 11 districts comprising Amravati, Nashik, Thane, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Dhule, Bhandara, Nanded, Ahmednagar, Akola and Satara, an official said, adding that 18 persons lost their lives in these. |