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Indian ferry disaster

May 1, 2012

Hopes have dimmed of finding further survivors of a ferry accident in north-eastern India. The overcrowded boat capsized after hitting a storm in one of the worst such accidents in recent years.

https://p.dw.com/p/14nTl
Onlookers and rescue workers look at the damaged boat which was taken on shore after it sank on the Brahmaputra river, at Buraburi village in Dhubri district of the northeastern Indian state of Assam
Image: Reuters

Rescue workers continued searching for over 100 people still missing on Tuesday after an overloaded ferry capsized in heavy wind and rain in the Brahmaputra River in India's Assam state.

Officials said 103 bodies had been recovered from the river. Strong wind and rain were hampering the rescue efforts for the remaining passengers.

"I will be ordering an inquiry into the cause of the accident, but right now our priority is to account for every person who was on the ferry," said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Assam's top elected official.

About 350 people were thought to have been on the two-deck ferry, which had a capacity of 225, when it broke into two pieces late Monday. Around 150 people were rescued or swam to safety. The ferry had neither life boats not life vests.

It was one of the worst ferry accidents in India in recent years.

ncy/pfd (AP, dpa, AFP)