Andhra boat capsize: Chandrababu Naidu to visit the spot

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Wednesday, will be visiting the spot where a boat had capsized yesterday.

The CM had left his Amaravati residence earlier today by helicopter.

Prior to that, he held a review meeting on the incident this morning.

CM Naidu spoke to the Police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other officials, inquiring about the search and rescue operations.

He directed them to use cranes for recovering the bodies and make arrangements for their post-mortem. Naidu also suggested he would ensure that the families of the bereaved would be looked after. At a party-internal meeting that followed the review meeting, the CM and others observed a two-minute silence for the deceased.

The boat, which was travelling from Devipatnam to Kondamodalu at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, had 40 people on board. When the boat was 10 minutes away from the banks, heavy rain and high-velocity winds started during which the small vessel lost its balance and capsized.

According to an official statement, at least 20 families had contacted Government officials with reports of missing cases. It is noteworthy that 17 people had been rescued so far, while others are still missing.

The statement also mentioned that a joint-effort by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Fire Service and Police officials was underway to recover the boat and bodies of the deceased.