AT LEAST 15 students and a teacher have drowned after a boat carrying a school group toppled in a lake in western India.
As many as 11 children were rescued along with a teacher after the horror incident took place in Harani Lake of Vadodara city.
According to authorities, the boat was ferrying a group of 27 school children along with four teachers who had gone for a picnic trip.
With a carrying capacity of just 16 people, the boat was overcrowded and toppled into the lake, drowning more than a dozen people.
And children were seated without life jackets, it was found.
The victims of the horrific incident include children aged as young as 10.
Dozens of people joined a frantic search for survivors around the lake where the boat capsized.
Cops said that rescued people have been admitted to different hospitals for immediate treatment.
India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is currently carrying out a search operation to trace the remaining students at the lake site.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X/Twitter: “Distressed by the loss of lives due to a boat capsizing at the Harni lake in Vadodara.
“My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. May the injured recover soon.
“The local administration is providing all possible assistance to those affected.”
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