The death toll from the tourist cruise boat capsize in the Bargi dam reservoir on the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh has risen to nine, as rescue operations resumed on Friday with the arrival of an army team and a helicopter from Hyderabad and a special paramilitary unit from Kolkata.
Four people remain missing, with officials recovering the bodies of eight women and a child from the reservoir, nearly 35 km from Jabalpur. Twenty-eight passengers were rescued, but survivors claim 43-45 people were on the boat.
Rescue efforts are now focused on retrieving the submerged vessel, 20 feet underwater, using hydraulic machinery and excavators.
A 14-year-old survivor, who lost her mother, grandmother, and brother, said no one had life jackets and that locals had warned the pilot to halt operations as the storm approached, but their pleas were ignored.
Another survivor alleged safety lapses, stating that life jackets were only handed out after the cruise started capsizing.
