AS many as 18 children went missing after a boat capsized in Muzaffarpur district of the eastern Indian state of Bihar on Thursday (14) morning, NDTV reported. Thirty-four people were on board and were heading to a school.
The incident took place near Madhupur Patti Ghat along the state's Bagmati river.
In many parts of rural India, lack of infrastructure still poses a challenge to local people when accessing key facilities such as school and hospital.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar told mediapersons that senior district officials, including the district magistrate, a pivotal administrative officer in the governance and management of an Indian district which is a constituent of a state, were asked to reach the spot of the accident.
He also said that aid and support would be provided to the families of the affected children.
"Rescue operation is underway... I have asked the district magistrate concerned to look into the matter with urgency. The state government will provide all assistance to the affected families," Kumar said, according to the NDTV report.
Officials from Bihar's disaster response force were also on the site.
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