At least 10 people lost their lives after a boat capsized in the Yamuna River near Kesi Ghat in Mathura on Friday and among the victims were seven members of the same Behl family who are all residents of Ludhiana and Jagraon in Punjab.
According to officials the accident took place around 2:45 pm when nearly 30 devotees from Ludhiana were boating and two boats were in use out of which one of them reportedly sank after colliding with a floating pipa bridge.
The victims were part of a larger group of 130 devotees who had travelled from Jagraon for a four-day pilgrimage to Vrindavan and the trip was organised by the Shri Banke Bihari Club. As per reports out of the total group around 90 people were from Jagraon while others came from nearby cities.
The seven members of the Behl family had reached Vrindavan just this Friday morning and their sudden deaths have left the entire family and local community in deep shock and now their bodies are expected to be brought back soon and preparations for last rites are underway.
Officials confirmed that several people were rescued but more than a dozen are still feared missing and rescue teams including police, district administration and divers are continuing search operations at the site.
DIG Agra Range Shailesh Kumar Pandey confirmed that the death toll has reached 10 and efforts are ongoing to trace those missing.