A 10-minute boat ride that cost 13 young lives in Bihar's Vaishali district

On October 13, a boat carrying 30 people capsized in the Ganga in Bihar's Vaishali district, claiming 13 lives, all of them children. The tragedy is part of a recurring pattern in a State where people rely on creaky boats to travel between areas with poor road connectivity. Amit Bhelari reports on the tragedy and the lack of regulation

Sitting on a wooden cot at home in Rampur Shyamchand village of Vaishali district, Bihar, Panju Devi, 40, cannot stop crying. Her daughters -- Ankita Kumari (14), Anki Kumari (10), and Amrita Kumari (7) -- were travelling by boat on the river Ganga on October 13, 2026, to attend a shraadh (post-funeral ritual feast). All three died when the boat capsized.

"I told them not to go but they didn't listen to me," cries Panju. "They told me that other girls of the village were also going to attend the feast and they would return in an hour."

It was around 7.30 p.m. when the tragedy occurred, with 30 people crammed into the boat. Panju blames the older villagers in the boat. "They should have not allowed so many children to travel in that small boat," she says.

Of the three sisters, two were studying in a private school in the village, while the youngest had not yet taken admission. Panju points to the room in which they would all sleep together, empty and quiet now.

"All three of them told me that they wanted to see the puja pandals in Patna this Durga Puja," she says. "They had planned to go with their father... I had three children and now I don't have a single one left," she wails.

Her husband, 47-year-old Raj Kishore Rai, says he was not aware of his daughters' plans. "I would never have allowed them to go. They knew that, which is why they asked their mother, but she could not stop them either," he says.

Raj's brother Mukesh Rai lost his seven-year-old son Naman Kumar in the tragedy too. Naman was the oldest among three brothers. His siblings were saved by the villagers.

Raj's third brother, Satyendra Rai, also lost his only daughter, Kumari Nishi, 14. Together, the Rai family lost five children that fateful evening.

The family, which lives together, depends on farming and also earns a living by selling milk from their three cows and two buffaloes. Their five-room house, built two years ago, remains unfinished and unpainted. When the gas cylinder runs out, they cook with cow dung cakes.

Of the 30 people in the boat, 13 minors -- nine girls and four boys -- died, leaving the village of Rampur Shyamchand mourning instead of celebrating the festive season of Navaratri.

In deep waters

All the 13 children, along with some adults, had hopped into the boat to go to the house of Singheshwar Rai, whose teenage daughter had died.

Baby Devi's two daughters also left home that day. While her older daughter, Chandani Kumari, survived, her younger daughter, Pinki, did not.

Recounting the incident, Chandani, 15, who studies in a government school, says the boat was initially stable. But after a while, she found water trickling in. "The boat began swaying from side to side and then it overturned," she says.

Chandani swam to her side of the village, dragging her two cousins with her. "I could not find my younger sister," she says. "It was completely dark and I was unable to see anyone's face."

Hearing screams, the villagers jumped into the river and started pulling children out. Satish Kumar, who saved a few people, says the police and ambulance reached the spot only one and a half hours later.

"When I reached the bank of the river, I saw children shouting and crying. I jumped into the water and helped rescue them. Some of them were unconscious and were later taken to a primary health centre in Fatehpur village, 2 kilometres away. From there, I hear they were referred to Patna for better treatment. A few were declared brought dead."

Fifty meters from where the Rais live, another joint family lost seven children. They are numb with shock, unable to process the scale of it.

Suresh Rai's daughters Alisha Kumari (14) and Sikki Kumari (13); Ram Naresh Rai's children Soni Kumari (13), Meera Kumari (8), and Piyush Kumar (8), and Akhilesh Rai's sons Aryan Kumar (5) and Bunty Kumar (4) all died. The three brothers earn their livelihood from farming and also own a hardware shop in Patna. Last year, they contributed towards building a two-storey house in which they now live together. They also own five cows and three buffaloes.

Suresh, 50, is the eldest of the three. His wife, Kiran Devi, hugs her children's books lying outside the house. Before heading towards the river, Alisha and Sikki had been taking tuition lessons from a local teacher. They had left their books outside. Kiran says they were planning to return from the feast and arrange their books neatly in their bags.

An act of negligence

With a population of about 15,000, Rampur Shyamchand is situated in the taal (wetland) and diara (riverine) areas, and is prone to flooding. It falls under the Raghopur Assembly constituency and is represented by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly. Though Raghopur is just 35 km from Patna, the State capital, it remains underdeveloped, with poor roads and frequent power cuts.

At one time, boats were the only way to travel from Patna to Raghopur. Cars and motorcycles would be loaded onto large, locally made boats to ferry people and vehicles across the river. Later, a pontoon bridge was built to make the journey easier. With the opening of the six-lane bridge in June 2025, commuting to Raghopur has become easier still.

Chandraket Yadav, a retired Bihar Home Guard jawan, says a bridge across the river was an alternative route to the house where the feast was being held, followed by a short walk. The children, however, travelled by boat. Yadav holds the older villagers responsible for allowing the overloaded boat to set off.

Villagers say reaching the bridge would have meant walking through mud. The walk via the bridge was less than 1 km, while the boat journey covered less than 150 metres and took less than 10 minutes, they say.

In these parts, there are no licensed boatmen; whoever is available and knows how to row a boat takes over. Bindeshwar Rai, who was on the boat, says the boatman was inexperienced and had no idea just how deep the river is. He blames himself for the tragedy. "I made the mistake of handing over the oar to a beginner who had no boating skills. Had I rowed the boat, I could have gauged the depth of the water. At the very least, that man should have ensured that the boat was not overloaded and made two trips if needed."

Babita Kumari, a villager, says had there been adequate medical facilities at the primary health centre, some lives could have been saved. Six injured people are currently undergoing treatment at the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital in Patna.

A recurring problem

The tragedy in Raghopur is part of a recurring pattern of boat accidents in Bihar. The National Crime Records Bureau recorded 421 deaths in boat capsize incidents in Bihar between 2012 and 2021, accounting for 12.2% of such deaths nationwide.

The latest incident takes the death toll in country boat capsize incidents in the State to 30 in 2026 (as of October 13) -- nearly double the toll recorded in 2025 and four times that of 2024. State Disaster Management Department data show eight such boat tragedies in 2026, four in 2025, and six in 2024. Overall, these 18 incidents have claimed more than 52 lives in the last three years. However, department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the actual death toll could be several times higher.

This year, country-made boats have capsized in several districts across Bihar, including Bhagalpur, Samastipur, Vaishali, Supaul, Katihar, East Champaran, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Lakhisarai, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, and Patna. Incidents were reported at Barari Ghat in Bhagalpur, Sultanpur diara in Samastipur's Mohiuddinnagar block, and Tesaria in Vaishali. Most of these incidents occurred during the monsoon months of September and October when the water in rivers rises to dangerous levels.

Overloading and overcrowding in creaky country-made boats in remote areas are common, as local residents have no other option to travel from one place to another. Hundreds of villages in the Kosi area still rely on boats as they lack all-weather roads.

According to the initial investigation by the Vaishali police, the boat capsized because it was a dilapidated one with a hole on the side. "This is why water gradually filled the boat, turning the ride fatal for the passengers," says an officer. "The boat was a private one and was plying even after sunset, which is a violation of the district administration's rules."

Villagers say the boat was purchased by them 10 years ago using donations. Gagan Rai, former mukhiya (head) of the village, says he has repeatedly asked officers in the block and circle office to provide new boats. "But I have never succeeded."

Vaishali District Magistrate Varsha Singh says the boat had not been registered at the block office. She says action will be taken against those violating the ban on boat operations after sunset, and accountability will be fixed in cases of negligence. "A district-level investigation committee has been formed to review the causes of the accident, as well as relief, rescue, and medical arrangements. We will make efforts to upgrade the Mohanpur primary health centre (Mohanpur is another village in Raghopur block) to a community health centre," she says.

After the incident, several political leaders visited the village, including Yadav, RJD MP Misa Bharti, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Cooperative Department Minister Ram Kripal Yadav, and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Satish Rai.

Yadav raised questions over the lack of oxygen in the ambulance, as well as the alleged delay in the arrival of teams of the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). He demanded an impartial inquiry by a high-level committee to identify lapses in the relief and rescue operations and fix responsibility.

Singh says the government plans to establish SDRF camps at two locations in the Raghopur area to ensure swift rescue operations in emergencies. "The district is heartbroken by the deaths of the 13 children. I appeal to the public not to travel by boat after sunset and to follow safety rules during boat operations," she says.

Singh has also ordered a ban on the operation of dilapidated and unregistered boats, and physical verification of all private boats. "Special camps will be set up at relevant block offices for the registration of unregistered private boats. Action will be taken against boats carrying more passengers or load than the prescribed capacity. Relevant Sub-Divisional Magistrates, Sub-Divisional Police Officers, Block Development Officers, and Station House Officers will monitor boat operations," she says.

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹4 lakh for each deceased person's family and also transferred Raghopur Circle Officer Deepak Kumar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced ₹2 lakh for each bereaved family and ₹50,000 for each injured person from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

No amount of compensation can make up for the loss of the children. Baby Devi's cousin, Puja Devi, asks why officials don't help the villagers replace boats if they are poorly maintained. "The truth is," she says, "nobody cares about poor people."