Five dead, one child missing after boat capsizes in Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur

Five bodies have been recovered while one child remains missing after a boat carrying villagers capsized in the Yamuna River in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district. The incident took place on Wednesday evening near Kutubpur Patiya hamlet under the Kurara police station area when villagers were returning from a river island after collecting muskmelons and cucumbers. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Flood PAC teams continued rescue operations on Thursday.

According to officials, the boat was carrying nine passengers along with the boatman when it overturned in deep waters around the middle of the river. Police said the boat reportedly lost balance while returning from the island at around 6 pm to 7 pm. The boatman, identified as Dheeru, managed to rescue three persons — Vishnu, Rinku and Parul — after the accident.

Authorities said six people, including one woman and five children, went missing after the boat capsized. Rescue teams later recovered the bodies of Brijrani (25), Akanksha (9), Rani (9), Labhyansh (5) and Mahesh (6). Eleven-year-old Aditya remained missing till Thursday evening, while search operations continued across a five-kilometre stretch of the river.

Officials overseeing the rescue operation said heavy rain, strong winds and the depth of the Yamuna River created difficulties during the search effort. Rescue operations, which were halted overnight due to adverse weather conditions, resumed on Thursday morning with multiple boats deployed in the river. Authorities said divers were facing difficulty entering deep sections of the river, and teams were using boats in circular movement along with net-based searches to trace the missing child.

Hamirpur District Magistrate Abhishek Goyal and Superintendent of Police Mrigank Shekhar Pathak remained at the site to supervise rescue operations. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed senior police and administrative officials to conduct relief and rescue work on a priority basis and instructed authorities to ensure all possible assistance for the affected families. Officials were also directed to investigate the cause of the accident and monitor operations personally.