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BOAT-CAPSIZES-INDIA
6 children killed as boat capsizes in India
NEW DELHI, Dec. 27, 2017 (BSS/Xinhua) – At least six children were killed
and three were rescued after a boat capsized in southern India, police said
Wednesday.
The boat capsized late Tuesday in backwaters near Ponnani Kole in
Malappuram district, about 359 km north of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital
city of Kerala state.
“Last evening a boat carrying nine people capsized here, following which
six children drowned. Three people including the owner of the boat were
rescued and immediately hospitalized,” a police official posted in Malappuram
told Xinhua, adding that “the children had come on a vacation to stay with
their relatives.”
Officials said the condition of the boat owner was stated to be critical.
Reports said the boat capsized 200 meters off the banks. Following the
accident authorities pressed in rescue boats and divers and fished out six
bodies.
Police said the deceased included four girls and two boys, aged between
four and 18 years.
Local government officials have ordered a probe into the incident.
Boat capsizing tragedies are not unusual in India, mainly because of
overloading.
Last month 19 people drowned after a boat capsized in Andhra Pradesh.
BSS/Xinhua/MSY/1146 hrs