Survivors of the Bargi Dam boat capsize said the Narmada Queen was allowed to sail despite a storm alert from the weather department. No passengers had been made to wear life-jackets before boarding, and life jackets were locked below deck. The Narmada Queen was carrying over 40 tourists when a violent storm struck at around 6pm on Thursday, killing at least nine people with six still unaccounted for.
According to the Jabalpur weather office, a yellow alert for heavy rain was issued for Thursday. The Indian Meteorological department had also sent a warning of thunderstorm with gusty winds of 40-50 km per hours to all district meteorological offices on weather forecast on April 30 morning.
Survivors said the crew began looking for life-jackets only after conditions worsened, leading to a mad rush to get the jackets stored on the lower floor. Some passengers were not able to wear them, and those who managed to wear them survived long enough to be rescued; the rest drowned.
Rescue teams continued to search for the missing a day after the accident, with divers recovering five bodies by Friday evening. Five people remained missing, of whom four are children and one woman.
