On 30 April 2012, a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

carrying about 350 passengers capsized in the

Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...

in the

Dhubri Dhubri (Pron: ˈdhubri) is an old town and headquarter of Dhubri district in Indian state of Assam. It is an old town on the bank of the Brahmaputra river, with historical significance. In 1883, the town was first constituted as a Municipal Boa ...

district of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

. The disaster killed at least 103 people.

Incident

According to official, the incident occurred when a packed steamer carrying over 300 passengers was caught in a storm and subsequently capsized. According To BBC news , Poor safety standards mean ferry accidents are common on the river but that this is one of the worst disasters in recent memory. The incident occurred near the Fakiragram village in the

district, about west of

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

. The Superintendent of Police, Pradip Saloi, told ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'': "The ferry, originating from Dhubri and going towards Hatsingimari, capsized near Fakirganj. We are not sure about the actual number of passengers. We have been told that there were 250–300 passengers. However, there were reports of many swimming to safety." Reuters reported that a police officer had said that the ferry had neither lifeboats nor life jackets and was overloaded with people and goods. Most of the passengers were farmers and farm families from the local area. A survivor said passengers had begged the skipper to beach the ferry on a sandbar when the storm hit midstream, but he refused. "Then the storm became more intense and the boat split into two parts before sinking," Ali was quoted as saying by

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

. According to India's

National Disaster Response Force The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is an Indian specialized force constituted "for the purpose of special response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster" under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The "Apex Body for Disaster M ...

(NDRF), the bodies of 103 victims were recovered by the NDRF personnel and the

Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...

near Jaleswar. Assam Chief Minister

Tarun Gogoi Tarun Gogoi (11 October 1936 – 23 November 2020) was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Assam from 2001 to 2016. He was a member of the Indian National Congress and led the party to a record three consecutive electoral vi ...

said that the death toll was likely to rise. The dead bodies have been kept at the Dhubri Civil Hospital.

Response

Following the incident, the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, National Disaster Response Force and the

launched rescue efforts. The

Government of Assam The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...

announced a 150,000 compensation for the victims. State Transport Minister

Chandan Brahma Chandan Brahma is a Bodo politician of Bodoland People's Front from Assam who is serving as the Minister of Culture,Government of Assam in the Sarbananda Sonowal ministry from 2016 to 2021. He was also member of the Assam Legislative Assembly ...

said,'Besides, 50,000 would be given to those boat passengers who sustained serious injuries and all those admitted in hospitals would receive free treatment.' He added, 'Anybody found guilty of any violation of rule would not be spared.' The President of India

Pratibha Patil Prathibha DeviSingh Patil (born 19 December 1934) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of India spanning from 2007 to 2012. She is the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National ...

expressed grief over the incident, whereas Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

assured the Chief Minister of Assam,

, that all help and funds for relief for the families of the victims will be provided while announcing the assistance of 200,000 to the next kin of each of the deceased. The Indian Army sent twelve divers for search operations along with army engineers and soldiers. The Army also provided food to the local people, thousands of whom gathered at the spot to help in the rescue efforts.

References

{{reflist 2012 disasters in India April 2012 events in India 2010s in Assam Maritime incidents in 2012 Maritime incidents in India Shipwrecks in rivers Dhubri district Brahmaputra River Transport in Assam Disasters in Assam