At least 12 children and two adults drowned in a lake in India on Thursday (18) when a boat they were in capsized during a picnic, authorities said.
Rescue teams pulled 20 children from Harni lake in Vadodara city and were searching for two more missing, police and district officials said, adding that some children were in intensive care.
It was not immediately clear how many people were on the boat and local media reports cited overcrowding as a possible reason behind the incident, which police have not confirmed.
An official said the victims were not given life jackets during the boat ride.
She said the children were aged between seven and 13 and studied at a school in Vadodara, which is about 120 kilometers from Ahmedabad, the state's largest city.
National and local disaster management authorities are involved in the rescue, the official added.
“Anguished by the loss of life… My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of mourning,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office said in a social media post.
The federal government will provide compensation of 200,000 rupees (R$11,887,000) to the families of the deceased and 50,000 rupees (R$2,971,000) to the injured, Modi's office said.
The state government also announced compensation of 400 thousand rupees (R$23,770 thousand) for the families of the deceased.
Source: CNN Brasil
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