Boat capsizes in Brahmaputra, several including school children go missing in Assam

In Assam's Dhubri district, a boat capsized in Brahmaputra river on Thursday morning and several people have gone missing since, officials said.

Manash Kumar Saikia, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Dhubri told IANS that the accident happened at an under-construction Dhubri-Fulbari bridge on Brahmaputra river.

He informed that the boat hit a pillar of the under-construction bridge and capsized. Following the incident, at least five people could swim across the river and reach the shore. But, several others are still missing.

"There were reports of some 50 people on board the boat. But, we are still not sure about the exact number," he added.

It is learned that Dhubri Circle Officer Sanju Das, along with a land record official and an office staff were also on the boat to survey an erosion-hit area. All of them are missing after the accident.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) was deployed to rescue the people. According to a police source, around 15 people have been rescued so far.

The locals claimed that many school children were also on the boat. It carried around 10 motorbikes as well.

The place of the incident known as Adabari is 3km from Dhubri town.

Notably, the Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge is a proposed bridge over the Brahmaputra river between Assam and Meghalaya.

The bridge, to be completed by 2026-27, would be India's longest bridge over water, spanning more than 19 km. This bridge, close to the Bangladesh border, will connect Assam's Dhubri with Meghalaya's Phulbari area.