Over 30 drown during Ganesh idol immersion in MP, Maharashtra, Delhi

Thirty-three people, most of them in their 20s, drowned during the immersion of Ganesh idols in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, officials said on Friday.

Some of the dead were minor, they said.

In Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, 11 people died when two boats carrying an idol for immersion in a lake in Khatlapura capsized.

Seventeen people were on the boats when the incident took place around 4.30 am, the Bhopal district collector said, adding that six of them were rescued.

Six of the dead in Madhya Pradesh were in their 20s, while two were minor.

One of those rescued said that safety equipment was not provided to the devotees venturing into the lake to immerse idols.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the death of 11 people in the boat capsize. "The capsizing of a boat at Khatlapura Ghat in Bhopal is saddening. In this hour of grief, our thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted quoting Modi.

Chief Minister .