A tragic incident unfolded during a school picnic near Vadodara city in Gujarat, where 16 individuals, comprising 14 students and two teachers, lost their lives as a boat capsized in a lake on Thursday, according to police authorities. The unfortunate event occurred in the afternoon as two dozen students and four teachers were enjoying a picnic and a boat ride at Harni lake. The authorities have initiated a search operation to locate the missing individuals.
“Till now, 14 children and two teachers have died in the tragedy. One student, who was rescued, is undergoing treatment at SSG Hospital,” said an official of the Harni Police Station.
Following the accident, Prime Minister’s office announced ₹2 lakh ex-gratia Distressed by the loss of lives due to a boat capsizing at the Harni lake in Vadodara. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is providing all possible assistance to those affected.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000.
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Vadodara boat mishap: What we know so far
According to reports, the students accompanied by some teachers were from New Sunrise School in Panigate. They came for a picnic at the lake at around 4.30pm and boarded a boat. The boat apparently had a seating capacity of 16 but 27 were on it. It is not yet known whether they were wearing life jackets. PM Modi announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from PMNRF to the next of kin of each deceased. Chief minister Bhupendra Patel announced a compensation of ₹4 lakh each to the next of kind of deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured. Gujarat chief minister reached the accident site in the evening as the rescue work went on.