30 drown during immersion

Bhopal/Mumbai/New Delhi : Thirty-three people, most of them in their 20s, drowned during the immersion of Ganesh idols in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, officials said on Friday.

Some of the dead were minor, they said. In Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, 11 people died when two boats carrying an idol for immersion in a lake in Khatlapura capsized.

Seventeen people were on the boats when the incident took place around 4.30 am, the Bhopal district collector said, adding that six of them were rescued. Six of the dead in Madhya Pradesh were in their 20s, while two were minor.

One of those rescued said that safety equipment was not provided to the devotees venturing into the lake to immerse idols. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the death of 11 people in the boat capsize.

"The capsizing of a boat at Khatlapura Ghat in Bhopal is saddening. In this hour of grief, our thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted quoting Modi.

Chief Minister Kamal Nath ordered a magisterial inquiry and a compensation of Rs 11 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.

The police have registered a case against the two boatmen. In Maharashtra, at least 18 people drowned in separate incidents during the immersion of Ganesh idols.