Srinagar: At least six persons including three schoolchildren and a woman died after a boat capsized in Jhelum River in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, early Tuesday. While ten passengers were said to have been rescued, three others are missing.
The officials said that nineteen people including schoolchildren were crossing the river which has been in spate following heavy rains lashed the scenic Kashmir Valley over the past few days in the boat near Batwara, a Srinagar suburb, to report to their schools and work.
The witnesses said the boat turned over and capsized in the middle of the river. The officials said that rescuers including the men from the Indian Army, the local police, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) besides the locals quickly swung into action and launched a massive operation.
Three children were declared brought dead at a local hospital whereas three more persons including a girl and women succumbed there soon thereafter, the police and hospital sources said.
Those who died in the mishap have been identified as Tanvir Fayaz and Mudasir Fayaz, their mother Firdousa wife of Fayaz Ahmed Maik, Razia daughter of Ghulam Muhammad Gojree, Shabir Ahmed Bhat and Gulzar Ahmed Dar-all local residents.
The missing persons are; Farhan Waseem Parray, Haziq Showkat and Showkat Ahmed Sheikh.
Thousands of people offered funeral prayers of the deceased including the mother-sons trio amid tears and sobs at Gandabal near Batwara, witnesses said.
An official spokesman here said that a large- scale rescue operation to locate missing persons is underway. He said that four boats of the SDRF, two of the J&K River Police and one each of F&ES, NDRF, four Marcos and two SDRF divers were part of the operation.
The deaths in the mishap are being widely mourned across J&K. The residents of Gandabal and its neighbourhood have blamed the callousness on part of the government authorities for the tragic death of the schoolchildren and other victims. They told visiting reporters that the successive governments have promised them high and tall, but none took any steps towards constructing a bridge spanning the Jhelum in their area. “Today’s tragedy is because of the absence of a bridge," said one of them.
J&K Governor Manoj Sinha said that he is constantly monitoring the situation after six persons died in the boat capsize incident and three others went missing. In a post on ‘X’, he said that the administration is providing all possible help to the bereaved families. “I am deeply grieved by the loss of lives due to a boat accident in Srinagar. My thoughts are with the bereaved families & I pray to the Almighty to give them strength to withstand this immense loss.”
Various political parties and leaders too have issued statements expressing their anguish over the incident.
