(Image source from: Eenadu.net)
Godavari Boat Accident: 3, Including Boat Owner, Arrested:- The death toll in the boat capsize at Kachhuluru-Mandam in Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh rose to 36 on Friday with recovering another body of a woman. Subsequently, the owner of Royal Vasista boat and two others were arrested in connection with the tragic incident.
The boat owner named K Venkata Ramana and two women, Prabhavati and Atchyuta Mani, on whose name the boat was registered were arrested on Friday and full details will be disclosed only after investigation, a senior police official said.
However, inconsistent versions were reported on the exact number of those on the ill-fated boat at the time of capsize. According to State Agriculture Minister K Kanna Babu, the boat carried 77 persons in all, of whom 26 survived the tragedy.
He said 16 more people, nine hailing from Andhra Pradesh and seven from Telangana, were still missing. Officials have temporarily stopped the search operation of the boat that is believed to be stuck over 210 feet deep inside the river as there is a flood of over three lakh cusecs in the river.
The officials are currently awaiting a report from Mumbai experts to launch a search operation.
The boat met with the mishap while on its way to Papikondalu tourist spot, reportedly on colliding with a large rock formation.
(Video Source: 10TV News Telugu)
By Sowmya
