Thirteen children die in river boat capsize accident in Bihar

UPDATE - follow-up to Nearly dozen dead after boat capsizes in Bihar's Vaishali: Thirteen children died after a small boat capsized in the Ganga River in the Vaishali district of Bihar under the Raghopur police station area on Tuesday night. The boat was carrying about 20 villagers to a feast at the home of Singheshwar Rai near Mata Maharani Sthan in Bhagtan Tola. All the children on board were aged 15 or younger.

Rescue And Reactions

Vaishali District Magistrate Varsha Singh stated that seven people were rescued and sent to Nalanda Medical College and Hospital, while rescue teams and local divers searched the river. Angry locals raised slogans against the local administration when the District Magistrate visited the hospital. Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary announced financial help of ₹4 lakh for each victim's family. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh from the PMNRF for the families of the dead and ₹50,000 for the injured. Raghopur MLA and Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav shared a video message from Delhi where he was attending an INDIA bloc meeting, stating he would visit his constituency in Patna to meet the affected families.

Context

Boat accidents often occur in swollen rivers when small vessels carry more passengers than safe limits allow. State governments typically provide financial aid or ex-gratia money to help families cope with sudden tragedies of this nature.