Rahul Gandhi to visit Assam boat tragedy site

Guwahati, May 2 (ANI): Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi is expected to visit Assam's Dhubri District this afternoon to assess the situation in the aftermath of the unfortunate boat tragedy on the Brahmaputra River.

Gandhi will be accompanied by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

Meanwhile, the rescue operation, which was hampered on Tuesday due to heavy rain accompanied by a storm and the high speed water current of the river, resumed this morning.

It maybe recalled that at least 103 people drowned on Monday night when their overloaded ferry sank in the Brahmaputra River. There were reportedly 300 people onboard.

The ferry was mainly carrying farmers and their families when it flipped over during a storm on a one-km (half-mile)-wide stretch of the Brahmaputra River.

Border Security Force (BSF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel are engaged in the rescue operation, but the authorities said chances of finding survivors are bleak.

Those rescued have been admitted to a nearby hospital for treatment. (ANI)