Seven children among eight missing as boat capsizes in Jharkhand dam

Eight people, including seven children aged between six and 16, went missing after the boat they were on capsized in Panchkhero Dam in Jharkhand on Sunday, police said.

The incident took place between 11.30 AM and noon when two men and seven children, hailing from Kheto village in Rajdhanwar Police Station area in Giridih district, hired a country boat for a water ride.

”Ten people, including three girls, were on board the boat when it capsized. The boatman and one of the visitors, however, succeeded in swimming to the shore,” Koderma Deputy Commissioner Aditya Anand told PTI.

The dam is located along the boundary of Giridih and Koderma districts.

”A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has been deployed for rescue operation, which is underway. A motorboat from the Fisheries Department has also been engaged but we haven’t found any trace of the missing people so far,” he said.

The missing people were identified as Palak Kumari (14), Shivam Kumar (12), Sejal Kumari (12), Harshal Kumar (14), Choti Kumari (6), Rahul Kumar (16), Amit Kumar Singh (14), and Sitaram Yadav (40).

Several senior officials including Koderma DC and superintendent of police are camping at the spot and monitoring the rescue operation.

Pradip Singh, who survived by swimming ashore, told reporters that they had come with the children for a boat ride in Panchkhero Dam. ”We started riding a country boat. As it reached the middle of the reservoir, we observed water inside the boat. In no time, water filled the boat and it capsized,” he said.

Singh was later referred to Morkocho Community Health Centre, where his health condition was found to be stable.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)