Four youths went missing after a boat carrying seven people overturned during a Durga idol immersion ceremony in Kota’s Kotri canal, prompting a search operation involving the State Disaster Response Force, the National Disaster Response Force, municipal divers and local administration teams.
The incident took place near the Steel Bridge on Tuesday evening. Three people from the boat were rescued by local residents, while the remaining four were swept away after the vessel overturned in the middle of the canal, according to Education Minister Madan Dilawar, who reached the site and directed the district administration to begin an immediate search operation.
Dilawar said the canal area was prohibited for idol immersion and that no immersion ceremony was permitted at the location. “Seven youths ventured for immersion of idols in a small unsafe boat that overturned in the middle of the canal, sweeping away four of the youths while three swam and were rescued by people,” he told the media.
District Collector Piyush Samariya and City Superintendent of Police Tejaswini Gautam also reached the site as rescue teams worked to locate the missing youths. Authorities stopped the flow of water in the canal to assist the operation and improve conditions for search teams.
Between 15 and 17 SDRF personnel were involved in the response, alongside divers from the Kota Municipal Corporation, civil defence teams and other local administration personnel. The State Disaster Response Force, NDRF and the wider district response machinery were deployed after the incident was reported.
Rakesh Vyas, deputy commissioner of the Kota Municipal Corporation, said rescue teams were dispatched from KST after receiving information about the incident near the Steel Bridge. He added that the location was not a designated immersion point and that municipal teams had initially been deployed at approved sites.
The incident has highlighted the operational risks created when public religious ceremonies take place outside designated locations, particularly around moving or deep water. The authorities’ account indicates that the boat was small and unsafe, while the immersion site lacked the municipal deployment provided at designated locations.
The search operation remained underway as rescue teams continued efforts to trace the four missing youths. Officials had not announced the identities or condition of those missing in the information available in the source report.
