At least 13 persons drowned in a lake in Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district when a round boat made of bamboo–overturned when they were returning after attending a local fair.
15 persons were on board the coracle when they started rowing from one end of the YT lake when the mishap occurred, Guntakal Sub-Inspector Baba Jaan told media.
“We have rescued one 13-year-old girl, and one person–the owner of the coracle– is missing. We have fished out 13 bodies, mostly women. They are all relatives who had gone to attend a festival in a village on the other side of the lake,” he said.
“While going in the afternoon, they took the precaution of going two or three persons at a time but in the evening all 15 decided to board the round boat which lost balance and overturned. We are to yet identify some of them,” Baba Jaan added.