In a shocking mishap, a boat carrying 38 passengers capsized in river Krishna near Vijayawada this evening around 5 pm. At least 16 people were feared dead in the dreadful incident. As of now, 8 dead bodies have been recovered while 20 were rescued from drowning.
According to the reports, the boat was going from Bhavani Islands to Pavithra Sangamam wherein Harathi would be performed as part of daily rituals. Sources say the boat had the capacity of 15 passengers but was overloaded with 38 passengers which resulted in buoyancy of water changed and the boat was capsized. Most of the passengers were said to be members of Ongole Walkers Club.
A private company was running the boat without getting government's permissions.
The CM Chandrababu Naidu, YCP's head Jagan Mohan Reddy, home minister Chinarajappa and several other politicians expressed their grief wiih the tragedy. The home minister announced an ex gratia of Rs.5 lakhs to the deceased.