Narrow escape for passengers when a launch in the Hooghly River caught fire

It was a narrow escape for 25 passengers of a launch in the Hooghly River when it caught fire. The launch was on its way from Belur to Dakshineshwar and a disastrous accident was averted. Fortunately, several nearby boats rushed to rescue the passengers.
One person fell into the river because of the commotion on the deck of the launch and, he also, was rescued by the sailors of the boats.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 16 November 2016.

It seems the launch caught fire when it was near Bally Bridge, which is nearly half the way. Passengers saw black smoke coupled with flickers of fire coming out of the rear side of the launch which triggered panic. It was a small launch and the panicked-stricken people rushed towards the front-side of the launch and the entire weight went to one side of the launch.
The nearby boats immediately rushed to the rescue and the passengers were taken to Belur and later ferried to Dakshineshwar. It took nearly two hours to fix the situation and bring back normalcy.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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