Disasters · Kota canal capsizeKota boat capsize: Four missing after Durga idol immersionAired October 21, 2026 at 1:30 AM UTCWritten October 21, 2026 at 1:34 AM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:07A boat carrying seven people overturned during a Durga idol immersion.0:11Three reached safety, but four were still missing after midnight.0:14Divers searched the canal, and authorities stopped its water flow to help them.0:18The urgent unknown is whether rescuers can find the other four.0:21The small wooden boat capsized in Kotri Canal near Steel Bridge in Kota, Rajasthan.0:26The accident happened on Tuesday evening, October 20th, 2026, within the area0:31covered by Udyog Nagar Police Station.0:34City Police Chief Teshaswini Gautam said three people aboard knew how to swim and0:38managed to get out.0:39She said the other four couldn't swim.0:41Education Minister Madam Dilawar said the three swam and received help from people0:44nearby.0:45Swimming out and getting help from residents could both have been part of their0:48escape.0:49Gaudam and Dilawar both gave the same count.0:51Seven aboard, three safe, and four missing.0:54No deaths had been confirmed by the overnight updates.0:56The search was still an effort to find those four people.0:59Early figures had differed.1:00Some put five people in the water and two rescued while one put the number still1:04sought at three.1:05The two named officials gave the seven, three, and four accounting, and both1:08follow-ups published shortly after midnight still described four missing.1:12The search brought together state and national disaster response forces, municipal1:16divers, civil defense teams, and local administration personnel.1:20About 15 to 17 state disaster response personnel were involved.1:24Other agencies added their own teams to the operation.1:28Dilawar described the boat as unsafe and said it overturned in the middle of the1:32canal.1:32The cause hasn't been determined.1:34His description doesn't explain what made it capsize, and there's no confirmed1:38finding of overloading or a structural failure.1:40Gautam and district collector Piuzh Samaria attended the scene.1:44Dilawar ordered an immediate search and also went there.1:47Municipal official Rakesh Vias explained the rescue dispatch.1:50Parliamentary Speaker Om Birla visited at night and directed teams to intensify1:55efforts to find the missing.1:56Authorities stopped the canal's flow to assist the divers.1:59The search continued into the night with municipal rescuers joining the state and2:03national teams in the water search.2:04Dilawar said immersion was prohibited along this canal stretch.2:08but people went ahead with the ceremony.2:10His statement puts the location at the heart of the safety issue.2:13Rescuers had been stationed at other designated immersion sites.2:16The formal terms of that restriction haven't been released.2:20Dilawar's statement alone doesn't settle legal responsibility for the accident or2:24what enforcement action might follow.2:26Gautam said designated immersion sites had boats, divers, and rescue teams.2:31Via said this stretch near Steel Bridge wasn't one of those sites.2:35Municipal teams were sent from KST after the accident was reported, rather than2:39being stationed there beforehand.2:40Gautam said the administration couldn't provide those arrangements at every point2:44along the canal.2:45She urged people to use the designated locations at this stretch.2:49The emergency began before the municipal rescue teams arrived.2:52The first names or nicknames Keshu, Gulu, Suresh, and Rahul have been linked to the2:57missing through local administration sources.2:59Officials haven't released a confirmed list with full identities and ages, so3:03describing all four as children would go too far.3:06Four people were still unaccounted for shortly after midnight on October 21st.3:10We don't know whether any have since been found.3:12The next official search update needs to establish their whereabouts, their3:16condition, and their confirmed identities.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe shortThe short ↗