In a major life-threatening accident between a boat and a ferry, nearly a hundred people on board were on the brink of losing their lives. A video that captured the moment when the boats collided showed desperate passengers screaming in horror as the ferry begins to capsize.
The tragic incident that took place in the Brahmaputra River has left at least one dead till now while 2 others are missing. However, the exact number of people on the ferry has still not been determined.
Inspecting the rescue operations after the accident in Jorhat, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that 87 people have been rescued till now from the waters. The collision site, which is nearly 350 km away from Guwahati, witnessed the tragedy at 4 pm on Wednesday.
After visiting the Nimati Ghat, Mr Sarma said that he will release orders for a magisterial investigation to probe the case. Till now, 3 officials of the inland water transport department have been suspended due to their negligence.
“I have asked the Jorhat Police to file a criminal case for the accident. By today evening, we will announce a high-level probe to find out the reasons behind the accident,” he said.
The video showing the time when the boats crashed into each other was shared by the All India Unorganized Workers Congress, an arm of the Congress party. Women too can be heard screaming as the boat overturns and knocks them off the surface. Some of them jump into the river and try to swim their way to the other stable boat.
Amongst the two boats that were involved in the mishap, one was a privately operated boat while another was a government-run ferry. The latter was coming from Majuli (a river island district in Assam) towards Nimati Ghat while the former was moving in the opposite direction- towards Majuli. The state-operated ferry had about 90 people on board.
According to officials, the ferry did not capsize and was a bigger boat compared to the private one.
The national and state disaster response forces (NDRF, SDRF) accelerated the rescue operations to find the missing persons this morning. The capsized boat too was cut open at 3 am in the hope of finding survivors but rescuers only found their belongings.
The government has deployed 41 personnel, including 9 SDRF deep divers and 7 rescue boats to intensify the operation. 24 rescue boats of the NDRF with 167 personnel and 30 deep divers are also a part of the same.
Aerial surveillance with helicopters capable of flying in low-lying sorties over the river has been started by the Air Force to look for survivors. The Army has also joined in as a team of its divers are at the site to assist the other rescuers.
Apart from the 8 people currently in the hospital seeking treatment, a 30-year-old woman died following her rescue from the site. She was getting treated at the hospital when she took her last breath.
Assam has released emergency numbers to look for survivors and families to report missing complaints of their clan members in relation to the accident.
The Air Force is conducting aerial surveillance with its helicopters engaged in low-lying sorties over the Brahmaputra as they look for survivors.
