Andhra Pradesh: Boat capsizes in Krishna river, at least 14 dead

An overloaded boat capsized in Krishna river near Vijayawada this evening, resulting in the death of at least 14 people. Search is underway for the rest, who are still missing.

Fifteen persons were rescued by local fishermen and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were pressed into service to trace the missing persons, a senior police official said. Bodies of the people who drowned were taken out from the river.

The incident occurred around 5.45 PM when a private tourism boat was making a trip from Punnami Ghat, Bhavanipuram, to Pavitra Sangamam, Ferry village, the official said. The overloaded boat capsized midway due to the weight of 38 passengers, the police official said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister N China Rajappa, leader of opposition Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and others expressed grief over the tragedy. The deputy chief minister rushed to the accident spot to oversee the rescue operations and has directed police to rush additional force to help locate the missing persons.