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More Than 50 Feared Drowned in Ganges
More than 50 people were feared drowned when a large motorized country boat overturned in the midstream of the Ganges river in Malda district of northeast India's West Bengal state on Saturday, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
The overcrowded boat, heavily laden with grain, paddy and vegetables, overturned when a wave swamped and disabled the engine and swept away the rudder and the steersman and his assistant, the PTI quoted a local official in charge of rescue operations as saying.
Stating that the boat had not less than 150 passengers, the official said other country boats in the river rescued 75 of them.
Local police boats were scouring the waters for bodies while all police stations on the banks of the river had been alerted, said the PTI.
The boat set sail from Palashgachi village and was heading for a weekly market in nearby town, police said.
So far bodies of two children had been recovered, while two others were declared brought dead to the hospital, they added.
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