‘Death was right in front of us’: Survivor recalls horror of Jabalpur boat mishap; toll hits 11 as bodies of two boys recovered- The Week

The death toll in the boat tragedy in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur rose to 11 on Saturday evening, as rescuers recovered the bodies of two missing boys. Two persons remain missing, and search operations are still underway.

The boys whose bodies were recovered have been identified as Viraj Soni (6) and Tamil (5). Tamil’s father, Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, and Kamraj’s nephew, Mayuram (5), are still missing.

The accident occurred on Thursday evening when the boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a sudden storm at Bargi Dam.

The state government has ordered an inquiry into the incident and dismissed three crew members after survivors alleged negligence and safety lapses, including the failure to provide life jackets to passengers.

“The boat was trapped in strong waves. There was chaos for nearly half an hour—chairs, tables, and people were falling over each other. Women and children were terrified,” Roshan Anand Verma, one of the survivors, told ANI.

“Death was right in front of us, but we didn’t give up. We moved towards the shore with an 11-year-old child. Somehow, we found support and managed to climb to safety,” he added.

Verma accused both the administration and the crew of failing to respond adequately during the emergency. “There were no proper instructions from the crew, nor was help provided in time. If a rescue boat had arrived immediately, every passenger could have been saved,” he said.

Meanwhile, post-mortem procedures for the nine deceased individuals have been completed, according to Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra. “Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report (FIR) in the case soon,” he said.

Search operations have been expanded to a 5 km radius in the dam’s backwaters, with over 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joining the efforts on Saturday. On Friday, the wreckage of the boat was retrieved from the dam, and authorities confirmed there were no additional bodies inside.