At least 14 persons, including 11 women and two children, were drowned and 16 others went missing when a boat capsized in the Kosi river in Bihar's Purnia district on Monday, police said.

The mishap occurred near Kasba, about 15 km from Purnia, when the victims were going to attend a fair, Superintendent of Police Sudhanshu Kumar told PTI.

Stating that 14 bodies have been recovered so far, he said five passengers, including three women, were rescued and hospitalised, while a search was on for 16 missing. Kumar had earlier said only five persons were untraceable after the accident.

Massive nets have been cast and divers pressed into service to find those missing, he said. Angry villagers clashed with the police over absence of doctors from the hospital where the five rescued passengers were admitted, three of whom are in a very serious condition.

Police had to lathicharge the stone-throwing crowd, which blocked national highway 57, Kumar, who is camping at the site, said. He described the situation as tense but under control.

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