Katihar:

Three persons, including a three-year-old child, died and five others went missing after a boat capsized in the Ganga in Bihar’s Katihar district on Sunday, officials said.

The boat, carrying 15 people, capsized near Golaghat in Amdabad area, they said.

Seven people have been rescued so far, and some of them managed to swim to the river bank, the officials said.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar condoled the deaths and announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the family members of the ones who died.

“The rescue operation is still underway to locate the five missing persons. An investigation has been ordered to find the cause of the incident,” District Magistrate Manesh Kumar Meena told PTI.

Two of the people who died were identified as Pawan Kumar (60) and Sudhir Mandal (70), the officials said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Three more persons were pulled out from the Saryu River in Bihar’s Saran district on November 2, taking the total number of rescued people to 13 in the boat tragedy a day before, an official said.

The toll remained unchanged at two as no new body was recovered, Saran District Magistrate Aman Samir said.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed sorrow over the boat capsize incident.

He announced an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and directed the authorities concerned to speed up the rescue operation.

“The CM announced an ex gratia payment of ₹4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased. He extended condolences to the families of the deceased,” said the statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

“So far, 13 people have been rescued, including those who managed to swim to the river bank. Rescue operation is still on to trace the four missing persons,” Mr. Samir told PTI.

The two deceased were women and identified as Phool Kumari and Chatthiya Devi. They were residents of Matiyar village.

The boat with 19 people on board capsized in the river on Wednesday evening near Matiyar Ghat in Manjhi block.

This was the second major incident of boat capsize in the State in the recent past. More than 15 children were feared drowned after a boat carrying them capsized in the Bagmati River in Muzaffarpur district in September.