The deceased have been identified as Hirsat Khatun, 33, Rajiya Khatun, 20, and Astana Khatun, 13. Their bodies were recovered by a joint team of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force (APF) personnel.
Eyewitnesses said the boat sunk in the river as it was overloaded with around 50 people. Altogether 12 people were rescued alive by security personnel with the support from the locals.[break]
According to Prabhat Jha, a resident of Rautahat, most of those missing are children and women. All of them had boarded the boat to get to Gamhariyaparsa of Rautahat.
According to DSP Thule Rai, families of around two dozen missing after the accident have contacted the police as of Saturday evening. Rai said that a large number of security personnel have been deployed to search for the missing.
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