Children Feared Drowned After Bihar Boat Capsizes

Most of the people aboard the boat were children, and officials feared passengers had drowned after it overturned in the Ganga on Tuesday evening. The latest report said the boat was carrying people to a feast across the river in Vaishali district. The disaster has since been reported as killing at least 11 people, though early reports differ on the toll and number aboard. ^1,3

Vaishali district officials confirmed 11 deaths after the boat capsized in the Raghopur Diara area, and district police and a State Disaster Response Force team began search work. Officials said the passengers were travelling to a feast. Early reports estimated the boat carried 15 to 20 people; opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav said about 30 may have been aboard. He gave an early count of 14 bodies recovered, six people sent to hospital and three safe, figures that do not match the district’s confirmed toll. ^5,6

Those conflicting counts matter because rescue teams were still looking for people in the river, and many passengers were minors. The Ganga divides Bihar and flows through the state from west to east, making boats one way to cross the river. But the reports do not explain why the boat overturned or give a final count of everyone aboard. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 2 lakh for each deceased person’s next of kin and Rs 50,000 for each injured person. Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary offered Rs 4 lakh to each bereaved family. ^2,3,9

Those payments come as local officials continue rescue and relief work, while the latest report leaves the final toll unclear. Yadav asked for more teams, including national and state disaster-response personnel, and said party workers were heading to the site. The district administration must continue the search and arrange care for the injured; officials have not yet shared the victims’ identities or explained what caused the boat to overturn. ^1,6