Global General

Special

Newsmaker

Asia Pacific

America

Middle East

Europe

Africa

Nepal boat sinks, 45 missing

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-04 19:00

KATHMANDU -- At least 45 people have gone missing after a boat capsized Sunday morning in Saptakoshi river in Sunsari district, some 220 km southeast of the Nepali capital Kathmandu, said local TV channel Avenues TV.

File photo shows Nepalese women taking part in a Hindu ceremony on the Bagmati River in Kathmandu. At least 35 people are missing after a crowded ferry capsized on a river in eastern Nepal, a local official has said. [Agencies]

A local news website Myrepublica.com quoted police source as saying that police have recovered one dead body. Eleven people swam to safety.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by dense fog, while police and locals are working together for rescue efforts.

The boat was carrying 50 to 60 people, said Durga Bhandari, Chief District Officer of Sunsari. The officer also said the accident could have occurred due to overloading of the boat, while locals believe that the boat might have hit sandbank.

People in Sunsari district have been using boat as means of transportation after the Saptakoshi flood destroyed the East-West Highway in August last year.