Guwahati, Sept 8: Two ferries carrying more than 100 passengers collided at Nimati Ghat in Assam’s Jorhat district and were reported to have capsized on the river Brahmaputra on Wednesday.
“Boats capsized at Majuli district following a head-on collision. Over 100 rescued so far. 120 passengers were travelling. NDRF and SDRF are carrying rescue operation,” informed G. D. Tripathi, CEO of ASDMA.
“The incident took place at around 4 pm, when the small ferry was at Nimatighat and suddenly a big ferry which was coming from Kamalabari ghat collided head on. Nothing has happened to the big ferry but the passengers of the small ferry fell in the river due to the heavy collision,” said Voirabee Montu, a boatman of Nimatighat.
Surjya Bhuyan, president of Kamalabari ghat said, “Anybody has not been recovered yet. Most of the people were rescued by the SDRF and NDRF team.”
Sonowal, Sarma express concern on the tragedy
Meanwhile, Union Minister of Shipping, Port and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal tweeted that he was anguished upon learning of the tragic incident and has directed the state administration to provide all necessary support to the victims.
Anguished to learn of the ferry accident in Majuli. I have talked with Assam CM Shri @himantabiswa regarding the accident and he has informed me of ongoing rescue and relief operations.
I have directed @shipmin_india to provide all necessary support to help the victims.
— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) September 8, 2021
“Anguished to learn of the ferry accident in Majuli. I have talked with Assam CM Shri @himantabiswa regarding the accident and he has informed me of ongoing rescue and relief operations. I have directed @shipmin_india to provide all necessary support to help the victim,” Sonowal tweeted.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa also expressed deep concern over the tragic boat accident at Majuli and directed the District Administration of Majuli and Jorhat districts to undertake rescue mission expeditiously with the help of NDRF and SDRF.
I am pained at the tragic boat accident near Nimati Ghat, Jorhat.
Directed Majuli & Jorhat admin to undertake rescue mission expeditiously with help of @NDRFHQ & SDRF. Advising Min @BimalBorahbjp to immediately rush to the accident site. I’ll also visit Nimati Ghat tomorrow.
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) September 8, 2021
Sarma also directed minister Bimal Bora to immediately travel to Majuli for taking stock of the situation. He asked Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Samir Kumar Sinha to monitor the developments round-the-clock.
Darkness hampers rescue opsÂ
NDRF and SDRF have been carrying out the rescue operation with support from Jorhat and Majuli district administration.
However, due to darkness, the search operation is also getting tough. The boat that sank completely is called ‘Maa Kamala’ and had around 150 people boarded on it.
While many other are still missing, reporters confirmed that many passengers also saved their life by swimming back to the river bank.
