HYDERABAD, 11 November 2003 — Fifteen people died when two country-made boats capsized in River Godavari in Andhra Pradesh yesterday morning.
Giving details of the incident, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Eluru Range), C.V. Narasaiah, told this correspondent that a fishing boat and a passenger boat capsized in Godavari River at Ramachandrapuram village near Rajahmundry town in East Godavari District, about 450 km northeast of Hyderabad.
The boats were carrying about 40 persons, mostly agricultural workers. The incident occurred between 7 and 7.30 a.m. The passengers hailed from Vangalapuri, Ramachandrapuram and Seethanagaram villages.
Overloading of the boats had apparently caused the accident. Each of these boats had a carrying capacity of 10 people, including sailors but carried twice the number. The boats were also found to be tied to each other and hence, when one boat sank, the other too also capsized, East Godavari Superintendent of Police Govind Singh told this correspondent on phone from the accident site.
While 25 people swam to safety and reached the shore, rescue workers retrieved the bodies of 15 persons so far. The victims included women. District Collector K S Jawahar Reddy and Superintendent of Police Govind Singh, along with revenue and police officials, were camping at the spot.
