Death toll in Andhra boat tragedy rises to 34

Bodies of six more tourists were pulled out from Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh's East Godavari district on Wednesday, taking the toll in Sunday's boat tragedy to 34, officials said.

Rescue workers continue search operations in the swollen river for 12 missing persons.

Deep divers from Indian Navy, two teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), three teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and personnel from fire services were participating in the search operations, backed by two helicopters from Navy and one from Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC).

Officials said while five bodies were retrieved from Devipatnam near the accident site, another body was found the downstream.

A private tourist boat, with 73 persons, including eight crew members, capsized near Kuchuluru village on Sunday afternoon while on its way to picturesque Papikonda hills.

Officials said 27 people were rescued by local villagers. Twelve bodies were found on Sunday and Monday while 16 bodies were pulled out of the river on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, personnel from Uttarakhand's disaster management department traced the boat with the help of their sonar equipment. According to the deep divers, the boat is at a depth of 70-80 meters.