Guwahati, June 19:Tragedy struck Assam’s Nalbari district on Thursday morning after a boat carrying over a hundred passengers, including a large group of schoolchildren, capsized in the Brahmaputra River. Several students are feared missing, triggering a large-scale rescue operation.
The ill-fated vessel was en route from Peradhara ferry ghat to Larkuchi when it overturned mid-river under still-unclear circumstances.
Eyewitnesses reported that the boat suddenly broke down in the middle of the river before capsizing.
“Over a hundred people, including many schoolchildren, were on board. The boat suddenly broke apart in the middle of the Brahmaputra. Many children are missing,” said a local resident who was among the first to reach the spot.
Soon after the incident, locals, along with personnel from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and district police, launched a coordinated search and rescue operation. However, as of Thursday afternoon, the exact number of missing persons remained unconfirmed.
Senior officials from the district administration are monitoring the situation closely, and an investigation has been initiated to determine the cause of the accident and assess whether the boat was operating with proper safety protocols.
Incidents of boat capsizing are not uncommon in Assam, especially during the monsoon season, with overloaded or poorly maintained vessels posing regular risks to commuters on the state’s extensive river networks.
The World Bank is supporting Assam Inland Water Transport Project to improve passenger ferry infrastructure and service in Assam and improve the institutional capacity and framework for inland water transport in Assam.
This project has three components. The first component is institutional, regulatory, and safety strengthening and includes technical assistance and safety management. The second component is fleet safety improvements and modernization and includes “Jibondinga” incentive scheme and procurement of new vessels and retrofitting of existing public vessels.
The third component is improvement in terminal infrastructure, which aims to support the provision of priority terminals and repair facilities and the provision of smaller terminals.
More details are awaited as the rescue operation continues.
