School students among several missing after boat capsizes in Brahmaputra

NEW DELHI: A government official and school students were among several missing as a boat carrying many passengers capsized in the Brahmaputra River in Assam's Dhubri district on Thursday, officials said. Locals claimed that around 29 passengers were travelling on the boat and 10 motorcycles were loaded onto it.

The Bhashani-bound boat hit the post of a bridge at Adabari, around 3 km from Dhubri town, and capsized, an official said, adding that 15 people have been rescued so far. Several school children were on board and none have been rescued so far, he said.

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Dhubri Circle Officer Sanju Das, along with a land record official and an office staff were also travelling on the boat to survey an erosion-hit area. Das remains missing, while the two others managed to swim to safety. Locals launched a rescue operation with country boats. Divers from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have also been deployed, another official at Guwahati said.