Bihar boat tragedy claims lives of 13 children, rescue teams scour Ganga for missing passengers

Rescuers continued searching the Ganga in Bihar's Vaishali district on Wednesday for people who may still be missing after a boat carrying villagers capsized a day earlier, killing at least 13 children, officials said.

The boat overturned around 8.30pm on Tuesday as residents of Rampur Shyamchand village were crossing the river to attend a feast in a neighbouring village.

All 13 victims were below the age of 15, district magistrate Varsha Singh said, adding that the death toll remained unchanged as no more bodies had been recovered so far.

The damaged boat, which was carrying over 20 passengers, has been retrieved, SDRF sub-inspector Jai Deep Narayan Singh told reporters.

People gather at a local hopital after a boat capsized in the Ganga river, with several people feared drowned, in Bihar's Vaishali district on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026.(Image by PTI)

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said the deaths of children are extremely saddening and expressed deepest condolences to the grief-stricken families.

"The news of the deaths of children in the boat accident that occurred in Vaishali district of Bihar is extremely saddening. I express my deepest condolences to the grief-stricken families. I pray for the swift recovery of those injured in this accident," she said in a post on X in Hindi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday termed the Bihar boat tragedy "deeply painful," and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured.

"The loss of lives in the boat capsizing incident in Vaishali, Bihar, is deeply painful. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this difficult time," Modi said on X.

Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured, the prime minister said the local administration is assisting those affected.

"An ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund would be given to the next of kin of each of those who lost their lives. The injured would be given Rs 50,000," he said.

Chief minister Samrat Choudhary has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each deceased.

Several political leaders, including former BJP MLA Satish Kumar Yadav and LJP(RV) MLC Ashraf Ansari, visited the spot and expressed condolences to the bereaved families.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who represents the Raghopur assembly constituency, said on X that he spoke to the district administration and was apprised of the situation.

Yadav said he would visit the site upon his return from New Delhi, where he went to participate in protests over the SIR exercise.

Meanwhile, locals staged a protest in the village, alleging negligence on the part of the administration, and demanded that an FIR be registered against officials concerned.