NEW DELHI: Emergency workers recovered 12 bodies from a river and were searching for another 10 missing people on Wednesday after a ferry capsized in southern India, officials said.
The boat was carrying 44 people across the Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh state when strong winds flipped it over late Tuesday, prompting a massive rescue operation including navy helicopters and dozens of divers.
The bodies were found after a 16-hour search of the sunken boat around 60 feet (18 metres) underwater using sonar equipment.
The state's Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said 22 passengers swam to safety and efforts are on to find those still missing.
Naidu blamed the private boat operator for the tragedy, saying the ferry was packed with men, cement bags and motorbikes.
"Because of the strong gale, the boat could not withstand pressure and sunk," he told reporters at the site of accident in East Godavari district.
The victims included members of a wedding party and people from local tribal communities, who regularly use the boats to reach their villages across India's second largest river that flows from the west of the country to the east coast.
Freak dust and thunderstorms have battered India for weeks this month, killing hundreds across the country.
Eight people drowned after their boat capsized late Sunday during a storm in northern Uttar Pradesh state.
But boat accidents are also common in India for other reasons -- mainly overcrowding, poor maintenance and lax safety.
In September, 20 people were killed when a boat capsized on the Yamuna river in northern India.
Six people died in October after their boat sank in eastern Bihar state, just months after 25 people died in a similar accident in the river Ganges.
India boat capsize leaves 12 dead, 10 missing
India boat capsize leaves 12 dead, 10 missing
Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent
DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.
Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.
In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”
“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”
“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.
He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”
Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”
Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.
She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”
Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.
The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.
