Bharuch officials rescue 41 pilgrims from Narmada in 9-hour operation
December 16, 2016  18:43
All 41 pilgrims aboard a boat that got stuck in the shallow waters near Aliya Bet in Bharuch district about 100 km from Vadodara on Thursday evening were rescued after a nine-hour long operation.

"The boat carrying pilgrims was stuck near Hansot district where the Narmada river meets the Arabian Sea at around 5 pm on Thursday. It was going from Vamleswar to Jageswar (religious places on the way of Narmada Parikrama)," Bharuch District Collector S Sagaale told Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar.

"As soon as I got the news I rushed to the spot with our officials. We had rescue boats with us and they set out from both banks of the river. As it was low tide, the tourist boat had got stuck. Also its rotator was damaged."

"As it is the mouth of the river, it is very broad here. Our rescue boats could not get close to the tourist boat after we located it as the water was shallow. We spoke to the passengers and calmed them. We told them that it was safer in the boat and they should stay there till high tide."

"I arranged for food, medical supplies and water for them. High tide started at 11 pm. We had nine boats which approached the passengers. We were able to get them all out by 3 am on December 14."
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