Over 50 people were feared to have drowned when a country boat capsized in midstream of the Ganga in Samastipur on Monday evening.

The boat carrying around 130 passengers lost control and overturned because of swift easterly winds in the swollen river while sailing towards Patharghat from Harpur-Saidabad on the other side of the Ganga, District Magistrate M Shravan Kumar said.

While several passengers swam to safety or were rescued, around 50 were missing and are feared to have drowned.

Two bodies have been recovered so far.

Though local divers were engaged to carry out rescue operations, these were hampered due to darkness, Kumar said.

United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil are scheduled to meet officials in Samastipur on Tuesday to assess the overall flood situation in the state.