Boat Tragedy : Death toll rises to 12, VLC used to locate the ill-fated boat

Vijayawada: The toll in the boat tragedy in Godavari River of East Godavari district rose to 12 with the recovery of four more bodies including that of an infant on Monday morning. With 21 more people missing, extensive search operations were being carried out by Indian Navy, NDRF, SDRF and state authorities.

The AP government on Monday used Victim Location Camera (VLC) to locate the ill-fated boat Royal Vasistha in the river Godavari. A three-member team of AP State Fire and Disaster Response Department of Vizianagaram Unit has developed the VLC.

While bodies of eight passengers were recovered from the river till Sunday night, another four were retrieved at the accident spot at Kachhuluru in East Godavari district on Monday. The extensive search for the missing persons on Monday has failed as they search and rescue personnel didn’t trace any of the disappeared persons.

The boat Royal Vasishta was on its way to the picturesque Papikondalu tourist spot in the middle of the river when it met with the accident, apparently on colliding with a large rock formation, at Kachchuluru.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy along with Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharitha conducted an aerial survey on Godavari River at Devipatnam Mandal on Monday where boat mishap occurred on Sunday afternoon. The chief minister also visited the Government General Hospital at Rajahmundry and interacted with the survivors and family members of the deceased and missing persons in the tragedy.

Superintendent of Police, East Godavari Adnan Nayeem Asmi said that the search and rescue operations ended on Monday without any major progress and it will resume on Tuesday morning. We are hoping that the Indian Navy personnel will locate the ill-fated boat on Tuesday, he added.