AT LEAST ten people have died after a boat carrying around 30 passengers capsized in India.
The overcrowded vessel overturned on the Yamuna River near Keshighat in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
Rescue teams including local police, fire services, divers, and boatmen pulled 14 survivors from the water.
At least twelve passengers remain missing, according to authorities.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have now piled into the frantic search.
The boat rammed into a pontoon bridge before it overturned and sank deep into the water, according to horrified witnesses.
Mathura DIG Shailesh Kumar Pandey said the crash “appears to be the primary reason for the accident.”
The passengers had travelled from Punjab, according to officials.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said rescue and relief efforts “must be accelerated”, and the injured “should receive urgent aid”.
A video taken moments before the catastrophe shows passengers packed in together without life jackets.
Many of those on board did not know how to swim.
Law enforcement officials have initiated an enquiry.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “deeply pained” by news of the incident.
He said: “My condolences to those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”
As divers continue to scour the river, authorities have urged caution and pledged to strengthen safety measures along the Yamuna.
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