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Tragedy struck tourists and the crew in a boat out for a ride on the Godavari on Sunday afternoon, after it was caught in a whirlpool and capsized near Kucchuluru village in Devipatnam, resulting in the death of at least twelve tourists.
Search is on for the remaining 60-65 tourists who had came from different parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The ill-fated boat was on its way to Papikondalu, a tourist spot. According to sources, the capacity of the boat is about 90 and there were enough life-jackets, but it is not known whether the tourists and crew made use of them.
The Godavari has been in spate for the past few days, but the flood water was receding on Saturday and Sunday, and five lakh cusecs of waters was flowing in the river when the tragedy occurred. When the river is in spate, no tourist boats are allowed but it is not known how the boat was allowed on Sunday or whether it was an unauthorised trip.
Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy, TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders expressed shock over the incident. The Chief Minister announced ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh to the next of the kin of victims. He instructed the East Godavari Collector to suspend all boat trips and take immediate steps to help the victims.
Helicopters from the the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam, have been pressed into service to trace the victims. Two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are also on the job.
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