Ganga boat capsizes in Bihar’s Bhagalpur, two labourers missing as 19 rescued

Two labourers remain missing after a boat carrying 21 people capsized in the Ganga near the Raghopur embankment in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district on Wednesday. Nineteen labourers were rescued after authorities launched a rapid response operation, while teams continued searching for the two missing men.

The missing labourers have been identified as Badal Mandal of Lodipur and Sikandar Mandal of Simaria. Officials said the workers were involved in flood-control operations after a breach in the embankment two days earlier worsened the flooding and inundated several nearby villages.

The labourers were reportedly transporting and placing sandbags along the riverbank in an effort to check erosion and strengthen the damaged embankment. According to officials, shifting weight inside the boat combined with changing river currents caused the vessel to become unstable and eventually capsize.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) deployed six boats as part of the search and rescue operation. Bhagalpur district magistrate Alankrita Pandey and other officials also visited the breached embankment site as emergency teams continued efforts to control the floodwaters and prevent further erosion.

The accident comes as Bihar remains in the grip of a severe flood situation. Several rivers, including the Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Bagmati, Khiroi and Ghaghra, are flowing above danger levels across multiple districts.

The Ganga has also remained dangerously high at several monitoring points. It was reported to be 18 cm above the normal level at Gandhi Ghat in Patna, 35 cm above normal at Hatidah and 36 cm above the danger mark at Kahalgaon.

The ongoing floods have affected more than 83.62 lakh people across 1,333 panchayats, 130 blocks and 16 districts, according to officials.

Authorities have also intensified preparedness in West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj and Muzaffarpur following a flash flood in the Bhote Koshi River upstream that killed at least nine people in neighbouring Nepal and Tibet and damaged villages and infrastructure.