Jaipur, October 21, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The bodies of four youths who went missing after a boat capsized in the Kotri canal in Rajasthan’s Kota district were recovered on Wednesday morning, around 18 hours after the accident, officials said.
The bodies were found approximately 100 metres downstream from the accident site. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) resumed the search operation at 5.30 a.m. on Wednesday.
The bodies of Vikas Verma, alias Suman, 22, and Suraj Singh, 22, were recovered first. A few hours later, rescuers retrieved the bodies of Ashu Joshi, 19, and Rahul Joshi, 18, who were cousins.
The accident occurred around 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday during the immersion of Durga idols. Seven people were swept away when the boat capsized, while three others, including a woman and the boatman, managed to reach safety.
Additional Superintendent of Police Subhash Chandra Mishra said the rescue operation continued until 10.30 p.m. on Tuesday before being suspended due to darkness. The teams resumed the search early Wednesday morning.
SDRF in-charge Ekta Hada said six rescue boats had been deployed, with three each from the NDRF and SDRF.
The search was extended downstream towards Umaidganj, with teams covering different stretches of the canal. Local fishermen also joined the rescue efforts to help locate the missing youths. Deepak, Man Kanwar and boatman Suresh were among those who survived the incident.
According to reports, water had been released into the canal on the day of the accident. The boat capsized during the Durga idol immersion, triggering an emergency rescue operation involving the administration and disaster response teams.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar visited the accident site following the incident. Senior administrative officials, including the Kota District Collector, City Superintendent of Police, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Additional District Magistrate and Tehsildar, were also present.
The bodies were taken to MBS Hospital for post-mortem examinations. Reports also indicated that the boatman fled the scene following the accident.
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