KANPUR:A boat capsized in the Yamuna river in Hamirpur on Wednesday, leaving six people missing, including a woman and five children. Ten people, including women and children, were on board. The boatman rescued three of them, while the remaining six went missing.The incident occurred late Wednesday evening, about 25 km from the district headquarters, when the passengers were returning from the other side of the Yamuna river after eating muskmelon and cucumber. The boat capsized in the middle of the river on their way back.The incident pertained to Majra Kutubpur Patia of Bhauli Gram Panchayat under the Kurara police station area. The village was situated on the banks of the Yamuna river. Village resident Shripal’s daughter’s wedding was on Tuesday.On Wednesday, after the farewell ceremony, around 6 PM, 10 relatives boarded a boat and crossed the Yamuna. There, everyone picked muskmelons and cucumbers. After eating, all were returning by boat when the boat suddenly lost its balance and capsized.The boat was being operated by Dhiru. He managed to safely rescue Vishnu, Rinku, and Parul. However, Akanksha (9), Rani (9), Brajrani (25), Labhyansh (5), Gorelal (6), and Aditya (11) went missing.Police and administrative officials were present at the site. The search for the missing persons was hampered due to darkness. A search was underway with the help of divers, though darkness caused difficulties. NDRF was called for rescue operations.The three rescued persons were admitted to Kurara Community Health Centre. DM Abhishek Goyal and SP Mrigank Shekhar Pathak also reached the site and directed deployment of additional police force on the riverbank and additional teams for the search of the missing persons. The DM informed that the NDRF team from Kanpur was also engaged in the search operation since morning.CM Yogi took cognizance of the matter and ordered officials to find the missing persons as soon as possible, stating that negligence will not be tolerated.Boatman Dhiru said that as soon as the boat capsized, he jumped into the river and rescued 3 people. However, his brother, maternal aunt, elder sister, and Bitti are still missing. He said that all the people had come to attend his sister’s wedding and had gone across the river to pick muskmelons. The boat suddenly capsized on the way back, leading to the accident.
