Awantipora Boat Tragedy | Search operation continues for 2nd day

Awantipora, May 9:   Search operation for two missing labourers continued for the second straight day on Thursday in River Jhelum at Hatwara village of south Kashmir's Pulwama district.

On Wednesday evening, a boat ferrying eight migrant workers capsized in the river, drowning two of them while six were rescued.

Soon after the incident, joint teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Jammu and Kashmir Police and personnel from Fire and Emergency Services launched a massive rescue operation.

Six persons were immediately rescued while two of them went missing in the River Jhelum.

An official said that the rescue operation continued till 4 am on Thursday and resumed at 6 am.

He said that the Indian Navy's Marine Commandos (MARCOS) also searched the Jhelum waters to trace the missing.

The official identified the missing persons as Himanshu, 25, and Ravi Kumar, 22, both residents of Uttar Pradesh.

District Commissioner, Basharat Qayoom told Greater Kashmir that the rescue operation continued for the second day by multiple teams.

Kuldeep Kumar, a survivor said that they were returned after working in a farm across the river when the water suddenly began accumulating in the boat, which led to its drowning.

“We exactly don't know how it happened whether the rope came off or something else happened,” Kumar said.

The labourers had taken the river route as a shortcut to reach their destination.