Boat carrying 45 passengers capsizes in Assam, at least two dead

A boat carrying at least 45 passengers capsized in Brahmaputra river in north Guwahati in Assam. According to news agency PTI, 12 of the passengers swam to safety while two bodies have been recovered during the rescue operations.

Teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Assam Police rushed to the spot soon after the information came in.

#Assam: A boat with about 45 passengers capsized in Brahmaputra river in North Guwahati. Police&SDRF teams have rushed to the spot. Rescue operation underway. pic.twitter.com/2Yh6S3X5or — ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2018

News agency IANS quoted eyewitnesses as saying that they saw some of the passengers making attempts to swim to the shore. The passengers on the boat included women and children.

The boat was on its way to Madhyam Khanda in North Guwahati from Guwahati.

The incident occurred when the engine of the boat developed a snag and hit a rock near the bank of the Ashwaklanta Temple around 2 pm. Only 22 passengers had valid tickets and the boat was overcrowded, with 18 motorcycles on it.