Boat capsize toll mounts to 24

Around 40 people were said to be on-board the country boat when it capsized near NIT ghat last evening.

When asked whether there could be more bodies lying in the river, Principal Secretary (Disaster Management) Pratyaya Amrit told PTI that hopes were fading, but rescue works by the SDRF/NDRF teams were still going on.

"No more family has come forward to claim about missing kin in the boat tragedy," he said.

The revellers were returning to Ranighat in Patna from Sabalpur diara (riverine area) across the river after watching a kite festival on the occasion of 'Makar Sankranti'.

The boat had been retrieved from the Ganga, the senior official said adding it was intact in one piece.