At least three people were killed and several others went missing after a boat capsized in the Ganga in Katihar district of Bihar on Sunday.

The incident occurred near South Karimullapur under Amdabad police station area when a group of about 17 people were crossing the river to go to their agricultural farms in the low-lying diara (riverine) area.

Videos shot by people from the banks of the Ganga showed that the motor-fitted boat was moving quite fast when one of its end started sinking. The boat’s other end turned vertical as the passengers fell down into the swirling waters of the river.

The entire boat went underwater within seconds while the people thrashed in the water to save themselves. Some of them managed to swim to the bank, while others were rescued by the locals.

Onlookers and family members of the deceased and the missing people gathered at the place where a boat capsized in the Ganga on Sunday. Pics by Sanjay Choudhary

The district administration officials recovered three dead bodies so far. Two of them have been identified as Pawan Kumar, 60, and Sudhir Mandal, 70. One of the deceased is still unidentified.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the deaths and announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹4 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.

The chief minister also instructed the officials to continue rescue operations to find out the missing persons.

“We are still conducting the rescue operation for four other missing persons. An investigation has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the incident,” Katihar district magistrate Mahesh Kumar Meena told reporters.

A team of rescuers and divers of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has also reached the place of occurrence. Those injured in the incident have been admitted to the government hospital at Amdabad.