Agra idol immersion: Bodies of all 12 who drowned in river recovered

Bodies of all 12 people who drowned during idol immersion in the Utangan river here on October 2 were recovered on Tuesday, bringing to a close a days-long rescue operation, according to officials.

In the incident that occurred on the occasion of Dussehra in the Khairagarh area, 13 people were swept away in the river during the idol immersion. One youth, identified as Vishnu, was rescued immediately, while the remaining 12 were missing.

Agra Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar confirmed the completion of the operation.

"All 12 bodies have been recovered from the Utangan river. The operation went on for nearly 124 hours, with teams from National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Army, Provincial Armed Constabulary flood company, local divers and police working round the clock."  The officials said the operation was particularly challenging as the bodies were trapped in deep pits in the middle of the river. The water flow was temporarily diverted to aid the divers and recovery teams in locating the victims.

The deceased were identified as Sachin (14), Karan (21), Bhagwati (23), Oke (19), Gajendra (20), Ompal (35), Gagan (25), Deepak (15), Abhishek (16), Vinesh (19), Manoj (15) and Haresh (22).

Police Commissioner Kumar, accompanied by District Magistrate Arvind Mallappa Bangari, visited the site and oversaw the final phase of the operation.

He said, "Eight of the deceased have already been cremated, while the rest have undergone post-mortem. Further formalities are being completed."  He expressed gratitude to all rescue teams and villagers who assisted in the operation.

"I thank every member of the NDRF, SDRF, PAC, police and local administration who worked tirelessly for over five days to bring closure to the bereaved families," he said.

Kumar also acknowledged the guidance and support received from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his office, and Director General of Police Rajeev Krishna, under whose supervision the entire operation was carried out.

On October 2, a group of young men went to immerse an idol of Goddess Durga in the Utangan river. The water near the bank was shallow and they placed the idol in about a foot of water before stepping further into the river.

As they moved ahead, one of the youths stepped into a pit and slipped into a deep well-like cavity. The others also lost their balance and fell in one after another.

Inspector Vinod Kumar of the NDRF said that the spot where the incident occurred had a pit that was around 25 feet deep, with nearby cavities about 15 feet deep. They were formed due to illegal sand mining.