Kolkata, Sep 16 (IANS) Search operation continued Thursday to find three pilgrims missing a day after a trawler in which they were travelling capsized in the Muriganga river near Kakdwip in West Bengal’s South 24-Parganas district, police said.
Bodies of seven people have been fished out so far while three people continue to be missing, police said.
The trawler, carrying at least 60 passengers including pilgrims from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab, sank in the Muriganga river Wednesday near the jetty at Kakdwip, around 85 km from here.
South 24-Parganas Additional Superintendent of Police (rural) Ranendra Nath Banerjee said: ‘Search operation is still going on for the pilgrims, who are still missing. Several agencies, including state civil defence department, the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indian Coast Guard and police, are working round the clock.’
‘At least three people are still missing,’ said Banerjee.
However, the personnel engaged in the search operation said high tide was proving to be a major hindrance.
State Civil Defence Minister Sreekumar Mukherjee rushed to the spot Thursday morning to supervise the rescue operation.
A senior official said Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has already announced a special train to send the bodies of the victims to their native places in north India after the completion of post-mortem examination.
The trawler carrying passengers from Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal was coming to Kakdwip when it capsized.
A preliminary investigation revealed the trawler capsized after it ran aground into the silt, police said.
