Vijayawada sources added that rescue operations continued on Wednesday in the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh where over 30 people are feared drowned after a launch capsized last evening. Meanwhile the personnel from the Indian Navy traced the launch which is said to be at a depth of 60 feet. Rescue workers were trying to break open the windows to pull out the bodies.
Meanwhile an official said the teams from the Navy, state disaster management
department and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel were
engaged in the rescue operations. Accordingly they were mobilizing heavy cranes
near the shores to retrieve the launch that capsized on Tuesday. Moreover the
rescue work, which was halted late on Tuesday due to bad weather, resumed early
on Wednesday. Moreover a helicopter was also pressed into service as part of
the rescue work.
Media reports to the incident occurred near Manturu in Devipatnam block of
East Godavari district around 5 p.m. As per report the incident came close on
the heels of a boat with over 100 tourists catching fire in the Godavari River
in the same district on May 11. Furthermore the passengers had a narrow escape
as the driver wheeled the boat to the shore and they jumped off before the
entire boat was completely destroyed.