A machine boat with more than 100 passengers on board capsized in the river Brahmaputra near Nimati Ghat in Assam’s Jorhat district on Wednesday.
The boat was supposed to travel towards Kamalabari Ghat in the Majuli district.
The mishap took place at around 4 pm when the boat, named Maa Kamala, collided with a ship, named Tipkai in the mighty Brahmaputra.
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While some of the passengers could save themselves by swimming, most of the travellers have gone missing since the incident.
It is suspected that around 50 passengers may have drowned in the mighty river.
“The boat was supposed to leave Nimatighat at 4 pm. But as the ship, Tipkai, arrived at the ghat, the boat, which got almost ready to leave the ghat, capsized when it was giving parking space for the ship,” said an eye witness.
There were at least 30 motorcycles on the boat.
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State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been engaged in the rescue operation.
High-level police officials have rushed to Nimati Ghat.