By Ahmad Adil
NEW DELHI (AA) – Several people are missing after a boat capsized in India's northeastern state of Assam, officials said on Thursday.
A ferry carrying government officials and locals capsized in the Brahmaputra River in Assam's Dhubri district on Thursday, according to the officials.
"There were some 29 people on the ferry. Of them, 5-10 people are still missing while others have been found safe,” Gyanendra Dev Tripathi, Chief Executive Officer of Assam State Disaster Management Authority, told Anadolu Agency over the phone.
He said a rescue operation is going on in the area.
Local media reported that the boat was carrying a team of officials who were on their way to carry out an inspection of the river erosion.
“The team was crossing the channel on a wooden boat when it hit something and capsized,” local English daily Hindustan Times quoted Anbamuthan MP, a top official of the district, as saying.