At least 20 people, who were on their way to attend a funeral on a makeshift raft, fell into a river in Bihar’s Purnia. The group of people, who were trying to reach a cemetery, had created the makeshift raft with bamboo sticks to cross the river due to the absence of a bridge.
Video: 20 Headed For Funeral On Makeshift Raft Fall Into River In Bihar pic.twitter.com/0fRdhnRdpw
— NDTV (@ndtv) October 17, 2024
A video of the incident has surfaced online. The video shows a small makeshift raft with at least 20 people, including children, standing on top of it. Two of the passengers are seen attempting to steer the raft towards the shoreline by pulling it with a rope tied to the bank. After constant attempts to pull it ashore, the raft suddenly gives in to the excessive weight on top of it and starts to tilt causing the passengers on top of it to lose their balance.
The entire incident was witnessed by a crowd who were constantly yelling at the people in the raft to hold the rope properly as the boat became unstable. Most of the passengers were not able to balance properly and fell into the river due to the sudden movement of the boat.
However, all the people on the raft were rescued and no casualties were reported, say officials.