Guwahati: Three children went missing after a boat carrying flood-hit people to safer places capsized in Assam’s Hojai district, officials said on Saturday.
The incident took place on Friday night when a group of villagers were moving to safety from inundated Islampur village. The boat hit submerged a brick kiln and capsized leaving three children missing. NDRF personnel rescued 21 people, officials said on Saturday.
“Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) rescued 21 people, while search operations are underway to trace the three missing children,” Hojai Deputy Commissioner Anupam Choudhury told local media.
Flood waters have inundated vast tracts of land and affected over 55,150 people in the district, which was also severely affected in the first wave of floods earlier this year.
A total of 29,745 people have taken shelter in 47 relief camps in the district.
According to a bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), another person was reported missing in a separate incident in Hojai on Friday.
In Sonitpur district, a person was reported missing when the boat in which four people were travelling capsized on Friday. Three of them were rescued while a search was underway to trace the missing person.
Over 18.95 lakh people in 28 districts have been affected by floods in Assam and 55 people have lost their lives due to the deluge and landslides.
