Malda boat capsize toll rises to 6; eight still missing

The bodies of four more persons were fished out of the Ganga river in Malda district of West Bengal today, as toll in the boat capsize incident rose to six, a senior district official said.
Thirty-one people had swam to safety, six others were rescued by the local people and eight persons are still missing, Malda District Magistrate G Kiran Kumar told PTI.
Among those rescued by the locals, five persons were admitted to Manikchak hospital and one person was shifted to Malda Medical College and Hospital.
"Of the six bodies recovered till today afternoon, two were women and one was that of a 12-year-old boy," he said.

The boat and the boatman were not traceable, he said.
The boat carrying around 50-55 people, mostly daily labourers and farmers, capsized in the midstream of the river Ganga after it left Dharampur for the char (riverine island), yesterday.

The weather was bad and there were strong winds when the boat capsized.
Five rescue teams, including a 35-member Disaster Management Team from Kolkata, were on the job, he said.
Rescue operations would continue in night.