Overview
- The tourist boat carrying roughly 25 to 30 pilgrims from Punjab capsized near Vrindavan’s Keshi Ghat on Friday after an apparent collision with a floating pontoon drum left from a dismantled bridge.
- Officials said the death toll rose to 11 on Saturday after one more body was found, with 22 rescued and about four still unaccounted for as teams searched farther downstream.
- Police arrested the boat’s operator, identified as Pappu, on allegations that he provided no life jackets and kept high speed despite objections, and authorities retrieved the vessel ahead of a formal inquiry.
- Large rescue efforts by NDRF, SDRF, local police, divers, and Army units have continued since Friday, and the Prime Minister announced Rs 2 lakh for each deceased’s family and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the PM relief fund.
- The pilgrims were part of a larger group from Ludhiana and Muktsar, and survivors described sudden gusts and hazardous debris in the water that turned a routine outing into a fatal rollover.