New Delhi

A boat capsized in Maharashtra on Tuesday evening (May 21) following which six people remain missing. The incident occurred in Ujani dam waters near Kalashi village, close to Indapur Tehseel of Pune district in the west Indian state. Of the six missing, two individuals are children. 

Advertisment

The police said that National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and SDRF (State Disaster Relief Force) teams have been deployed on the site.

Pune Rural Police said on Wednesday (May 22), "NDRF, SDRF, local administration and police are deployed for search and rescue operations."

"Those feared drowned include three men, one woman and two children. This was a passenger boat regularly plying between Bhugaon in Karmala taluka Solapur and Kalashi in Indapur taluka of Pune. On Tuesday evening, the boat was coming from Bhugaon to Kalashi. There was rain and strong wind due to which the boat is believed to have capsized," an officer from Pune district administration was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Advertisment

The officer added: "Of the seven people on the boat, one of them, who is a police officer, managed to swim to safety. The water level in the dam backwaters is very low and because of that, there is a lot of silt, which we believe could have been a factor that posed a challenge for those who are feared drowned. The silt is also posing a challenge in the search operation by NDRF and SDRF."

(With inputs from agencies)