Patna: Three people drowned and four others went missing when a boat carrying them capsized in the Ganga in Katihar district on Sunday. The incident occurred when the passengers were travelling to the diara area in Sakri, Jharkhand, from Gola Ghat in Karimullapur to tend to their fields.
Upon receiving information about the incident, Amdabad circle officer Sneha Kumari and SHO Kundan Kumar, along with the State Disaster Response Force personnel, reached the spot and began a rescue operation.
SHO of Amdabad police station, Kundan Kumar, said, "Around 8.30am, the people set out from Golaghat by a country boat for Sakri. As soon as they reached the middle of the river, the boat, carrying 17 passengers, capsized. When the boat sank, 10 people swam to safety, but seven others, including a child, went missing in the river. With the help of local divers, the bodies of three people, including a child, were fished out from the river."
"Four people were rescued by the SDRF team and admitted to the Amdabad primary health centre for treatment. The deceased have been identified as Pawan Kumar (60), Sudhir Mandal (70), and a one-year-old girl," the SHO said, adding the reason behind the boat capsize appeared to be overloading. "The rescue operation was suspended in the evening due to bad light. It will begin again on Monday morning," the SHO said.

Meanwhile, CM Nitish Kumar expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and asked the officials concerned to continue the search for the missing people. He also announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased.