A major tragedy was averted at Sangam Ghat on Tuesday, just before Maghi Purnima, when a boat carrying devotees capsized, throwing nine people into the river. Thanks to the swift and courageous response of the water police, seven individuals were rescued in time. However, a woman from Dehradun and her brother-in-law remain missing. The woman’s husband and another person, both critically injured, have been admitted to SRN Hospital.
The incident occurred around 3 PM when devotees were boarding the boat after taking a holy dip at Sangam. As the boat became unbalanced due to overcrowding on one side, it overturned. Witnessing the crisis, water police officers immediately jumped into the river, working tirelessly to pull drowning individuals to safety.
Despite their heroic efforts, two individuals could not be located. Divers from the water police and NDRF teams continued searching for hours but were unable to find them. The search operation is set to resume on Wednesday morning.
The rescued devotees were quickly taken to a medical facility in Sector-24 of the fairground near Arail. Their relatives were informed, and upon receiving the news, Ramgopal Mittal from Haryana identified two of his injured family members—Brijlal Prasad (67) and Mahaveer Prasad (65)—who were admitted to the ICU at SRN Hospital.
Among those saved, Usha Rani (55) and Geeta Rani (50) were declared out of danger. However, Brijlal’s wife, Lalita Devi (60), and his cousin brother-in-law, Suresh Chandra (65), remain missing.
Circle Officer (CO) of Water Police, Rajneesh Yadav, confirmed that four of the rescued individuals were from Dehradun and three from Bengaluru. As they were in stable condition, the Bengaluru residents were allowed to return home. Meanwhile, extensive search efforts continue for the missing individuals, demonstrating the unwavering commitment of the water police to saving lives.
