Locals alerted BSF on boat tragedy, Bangladesh help sought

Dhubri, Assam: It was a phone call from locals residing on the banks of the Brahmaputra that first alerted the BSF water wing on the tragedy. The personnel of the unit swung into rescue action immediately in what is being termed as Assam’s worst boat disaster killing more than 100 people.[caption id=“attachment_294403” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Onlookers and rescue workers look at the damaged boat which was taken on shore after it sank on the Brahmaputra river, at Buraburi village in Dhubri district of the northeastern Indian state of Assam May 1, 2012. Rescue workers fought heavy wind and rain to search for survivors after at least 103 people drowned on an overloaded ferry carrying about 300 people that sank at night on one of India’s largest rivers on Monday, police said. Utpal Baruah/Reuters”]  [/caption] The BSF water wing was carrying out their regular patrol along the riverine stretch of the Indo-Bangaldesh border when a telephone call and a wireless message around 1630 in the evening broke the routine drill of these troopers. “First it was the locals who alerted us…then the local police also called our control room. We immediately dispatched six motor boats with about 30 personnel for the spot”, said Commanding Officer (CO) of the BSF water wing in Dhubri Rajesh Dhandoria. Dhandoria, under whose command lies about 50-kilometre of the Indo-Bangla riverine border, has been at the spot with his men since more than 12 hours now. The BSF, meanwhile, has also alerted the commanders of the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) to keep a check on their side of the water body for both survivors and bodies. “Initially we tried to gauge the extent of the tragedy when it occurred yesterday. After sometime it was established that the boat was a large one and it has broken into two. It is estimated that about 300 people could be onboard..but there is no sure figure about it,” the officer said. The 30-men team quickly deployed their rescue gadgets but they rue the fact that they had to fish out more bodies than survivors. “My boys did not have anything to eat since over 12 hours…but we kept on with the hope that we may find survivors. We got more bodies instead. Now the Army and civilians are also there. We are planning to change the guard and bring some fresh personnel for rescue work”, Dhandoria said even as senior Border Security Force and state administration officials reached the spot. Rescue teams, with speedboats, were searching the waters this morning amid torrential rains which was continuing since last night to locate more bodies. The ferry was caught in a storm before it broke into two and capsised. PTI