Jaipur, Oct 21 — The bodies of four youths who went missing after a boat capsized in the Kotri canal in Rajasthan’s Kota district were recovered on Wednesday morning, around 18 hours after the accident, officials said.
The bodies were found approximately 100 metres downstream from the accident site. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) resumed the search operation at 5.30 a.m. on Wednesday.
The bodies of Vikas Verma, alias Suman (22), and Suraj Singh (22) were recovered first. A few hours later, the bodies of Ashu Joshi (19) and Rahul Joshi (18) were also retrieved. Ashu and Rahul were cousins.
The accident occurred around 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday during the immersion of Durga idols. Seven people were swept away when the boat capsized, but three people, including a woman and the boatman, managed to reach safety.
According to Additional SP Subhash Chandra Mishra, the rescue operation continued until 10.30 p.m. on Tuesday before being suspended due to darkness. The teams resumed the search early Wednesday morning.
SDRF in-charge Ekta Hada said six rescue boats had been deployed, including three from the NDRF and three from the SDRF.
The search operation was extended downstream towards Umaidganj, with teams covering different stretches of the canal. Local fishermen also joined the rescue efforts to help locate the missing youths. Deepak, Man Kanwar and boatman Suresh were among those who survived the incident.
The accident occurred on the same day when water was released into the canal, according to reports. The sudden incident took place during the Durga idol immersion, triggering an emergency rescue operation by the administration and disaster response teams.
Following the incident, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar reached the site. Senior administrative officials, including the Kota District Collector, City Superintendent of Police, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Additional District Magistrate and Tehsildar, were also present.
The bodies of the deceased were taken to MBS Hospital for post-mortem examinations. Reports also indicated the boatman fled the scene following the accident.