In the Jabalpur Bargi dam tragedy, a cruise ship carrying 29 passengers capsized after hitting a strong wave on Thursday. According to Madhya Pradesh Minister Dharmendra Lodhi, the bodies of seven people have been recovered. A total of 15 people have been rescued so far. After a sudden storm on 30 April, the ship capsized in the Bargi dam reservoir.
Speaking to PTI, Dharmendra Lodhi said, “It is a deeply heartbreaking and tragic incident and one hopes that such an incident will never happen again. I believe the rescue operation has already started last night and it is indeed a very sad incident. Steps must definitely be taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur in future.”
He added: “What happened is truly heartbreaking and cannot be fully expressed in words. The bodies of seven people have been recovered so far. There will definitely be a thorough investigation to find out how this accident happened and action will be taken against those found responsible.”
Search and rescue operations are underway at Bargi Dam in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Commenting on the tragedy, Jabalpur Collector Raghvendra Singh said that the cruises in the reservoir operate for recreational activities and one such cruise capsized during the day. “We have sent the bodies for post-mortem. SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) and NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) are here and are conducting the operation. The rescue operation is going on,” ANI quoted Raghvendra Singh as saying.
Survivor tells the horror
A survivor of the Jabalpur Bargi dam tragedy told ANI, “My son and wife are missing. I got injured when the cruise ship’s mirror broke after hitting a wave. The staff did not provide us with life jackets, we arranged and distributed them ourselves.”
According to eyewitnesses, strong winds may have contributed to the incident. “It was really windy. We told the boat operator to come to the other end, but he ignored it. It started on the other side but capsized in the middle of the dam. A couple of people in life jackets jumped out of the boat… We rescued about 15-16 people safely… We rushed them to the hospital. The bodies were taken away,” an eyewitness told ANI.
According to another eyewitness, the operator of the boat was warned of the windy weather, which turned out to be dangerous, and was asked to pull the boat onto its side and anchor before the accident. However, the ship’s operator ignored the warning signals and took the voyage in the middle of the water, where he met with a fatal accident.
In a post on X, Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla said, “The news of the boating accident at Bargi Dam in Jabalpur is extremely heartbreaking and disheartening. My deepest condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones in this tragic incident. The local administration and SDRF-NDRF teams are engaged in rescue and relief operations with full speed.”
