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Varanasi boat capsize: 5 more bodies recovered, 7 missing

August 07, 2014 20:44 IST

The bodies of 5 more persons were fished out of the Ganga river while a search was on to trace the 7 others who had gone missing after a boat capsized in the river near Shooltankeshwar area.

A total of 12 bodies have been recovered so far since the boat carrying over 42 persons capsized in the Ganga river in the middle of Varanasi and Mirzapur in Betawar ghat near on Tuesday.

23 of them managed to swim to safety while 19 went missing.

"Five bodies have been recovered since last night and search is still on for the missing 7 people. A total of 12 bodies have been recovered till date," said Ashok Kanojia, SDM of Chunar town in Mirzapur.

"The five bodies recovered since last night have been identified as Rahul, Raj Kumar, Bechan, Shivpujan and Parmanand," said Kanojia.

A search is still on for the missing people in Mirzapur and Varanasi district.

A team of NDRF, Jal Police and PAC flood platoon along with river divers is carrying out search operations in Varanasi and Mirzapur district.

The boat, heading towards Mirzapur from Varanasi, capsized in the river on Tuesday at Betawar ghat near Shooltankeshwar area.

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