Bihar Boat Capsize: Death Toll Remains at 13 as Search Continues for Missing Persons

Hajipur, Oct. 14: Rescue teams continued search operations in the Ganga river in Bihar’s Vaishali district on Wednesday, a day after a boat capsized, killing at least 13 children, officials said.

Vaishali District Magistrate Varsha Singh confirmed that the death toll remained unchanged at 13, with no additional bodies recovered during the latest phase of the operation. Authorities continued efforts to locate any passengers who might still be missing.

All the deceased children were below 15 years of age, making the incident a devastating loss for families in the affected area.

According to officials, the accident occurred at around 8.30 pm on Tuesday when residents of Rampur Shyamchand village were travelling by boat to attend a feast in a settlement on the opposite bank of the river. The vessel was reportedly carrying more than 20 passengers when it overturned.

Singh said six people had been rescued so far and that relief and rescue operations remained underway. Teams were continuing their efforts to establish whether anyone else was unaccounted for.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) also confirmed that the damaged vessel had been retrieved from the river. SDRF Sub-Inspector Jai Deep Narayan Singh told reporters that the recovery of the boat was an important part of the ongoing operation.

Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh to the family of each deceased person as financial assistance to the bereaved households.

Several political leaders visited the accident site to express condolences and meet affected families. Former BJP MLA Satish Kumar Yadav and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MLC Ashraf Ansari were among those who reached the area following the tragedy.

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, who represents the Raghopur Assembly constituency, said in a post on X that he had spoken with district officials and received an update on the situation.

Yadav added that he would visit the affected area after returning from New Delhi, where he had gone to participate in protests related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

Meanwhile, residents staged a protest in the village, alleging administrative negligence and demanding that a First Information Report (FIR) be registered against the officials concerned.

The protest reflected growing anger among locals over the circumstances surrounding the accident and concerns about the safety arrangements for people travelling across the river.

As rescue efforts continued, authorities faced the immediate task of accounting for all passengers and providing assistance to the affected families. The incident has also renewed attention on passenger safety and the risks associated with river transport, particularly when boats carry large numbers of people.

Further details about the circumstances that led to the vessel capsizing were awaited as officials continued rescue and relief operations.