Six school students die as picnic boat capsizes in lake in Gujarat’s Vadodara

At least six school children died on Thursday as the boat they were on overturned in the Harni Lake on the outskirts of Vadodara in Gujarat.

The boat was carrying 27 students who came to the outskirts for a picnic. A search operation has been launched to trace the students as the rest are missing. Gujarat education minister Kuber Dindor said the NDRF and the fire brigade personnel have been deployed for the search operation.

Vadodara district collector A B Gor said a rescue operation is going on. “A boat carrying school students, who came here on a picnic, overturned in Harni lake in the afternoon. The fire brigade has so far rescued seven students, while search is on for the missing ones,” Vadodara’s chief fire officer Parth Brahmbhatt said.

Some locals rescued some children before the fire brigade personnel reached the spot.

Vadodara MP Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt said strict action will be taken against whoever is responsible for the mishap. The rescued students have been taken to different hospitals, the MP said.

Chief minister Bhupendra Patel expressed condolences to the families of the children who lost their lives. “The incident of children drowning after the boat capsized in Vadodara’s Harni lake is extremely heartbreaking. I pray for the peace of the souls of the innocent children who lost their lives. My deepest condolences to their families in this hour of sorrow. May the Merciful God give them the strength to bear this sorrow. The rescue operation of the students and teachers on board the boat is currently going on. The system has been instructed to provide immediate relief and treatment to the victims of the accident,” the chief minister posted on X.