Boat capsizes in Indian occupied Kashmir, killing at least 4 people, several missing

SRINAGAR: Four people died and at least 19 are missing after a boat capsized in the Jhelum river near Srinagar, in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday, local media reported.

“Around 15 people, several children among them, are missing after the accident,” a local official told the AFP news agency. Most of the passengers were children on their way to school and rescuers were searching for many others who were still missing.

Many office workers and schoolchildren take the river route in the morning to avoid road traffic. Witnesses said a rope used to guide the boat across had snapped due to the force of the fast-flowing water.

Taking on X, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir said, “Administration is providing all possible help to the bereaved families who have lost their near and dear ones and medical facilities to those who have been injured. Marcos teams have also been alerted.”

Last year, 22 people drowned when a double-decker boat carrying more than 30 passengers capsized near a beach in Kerala state in southern India. In May 2018, 30 people died when their boat capsized on the swollen Godavari River in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.