At least six individuals, including women and children, have been reported missing after a boat carrying approximately nine passengers capsized in the Yamuna River in Hamirpur on Wednesday evening. The incident occurred as villagers were returning from collecting muskmelons and cucumbers from a river island, according to officials.
Incident Details
The accident took place in the Kutubpur Patiya hamlet under Bhauli gram panchayat in the Kurara police station area. A group of villagers had crossed the Yamuna River in a small boat to reach an island located in the middle of the river to harvest melons and cucumbers. While returning at around 6 pm, the overcrowded boat, carrying 10 people including the boatman, reportedly overturned in deep waters midstream, throwing all passengers into the river.
Rescue Efforts
The boatman, identified as Dheeru, managed to rescue three individuals — Vishnu, Rinku, and Parul — from drowning. However, six others, identified as Rani, Akanksha, Brajrani, Lavayansh, Gorelal, and Aditya, remained missing until late evening. Soon after the accident, local residents gathered on the riverbank while police and district administration officials rushed to the spot. Divers were deployed to trace the missing persons, though rescue efforts were hampered due to darkness. The rescued individuals were admitted to the community health centre in Kurara for treatment.
Official Response
Officials stated that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had been alerted, and its team was expected to reach Hamirpur soon to intensify the rescue operation. Additional Director General of Police for Prayagraj Zone, Jyoti Narayan, confirmed that three people were rescued and that the search for the missing was underway. District Magistrate Abhishek Goyal and Superintendent of Police Mrigank Shekhar Pathak also arrived at the site and directed the deployment of additional police personnel and rescue teams along the riverbank.
Government Intervention
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the incident and directed senior police and administrative officials to carry out relief and rescue operations on a war footing. He instructed officials to ensure that the missing persons were traced at the earliest and warned that any negligence in the rescue operation would not be tolerated. The Chief Minister also directed senior district officials to personally monitor the ongoing rescue efforts and ensure all possible assistance to the affected families. The district administration has been asked to investigate the cause of the accident and implement measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
