Thirty five days after tourist boat Royal Vasista capsized in the River Godavari near Kachuluru village in Devipatnam mandal of East Godavari district, scuba divers were pressed into service on Sunday. They retrieved one more body.
The port and the Kakinada-based Balaji Marines personnel have been making efforts to salvage the boat for the last 15 days.
The boat carrying 77 persons, including crew, to Papikondalu capsized after it was caught in a whirlpool. Twenty six persons survived the mishap, 38 bodies have been retrieved by search teams and expert swimmers till date and 12 were still missing.
A 25-member team, led by port official Adinarayana and expert, Dharmadi Satyam, traced the boat at a depth of more than 50 feet near the village. However, the team could not pull the vessel out.
As per the recommendations of the team, scuba divers from Visakhapatnam were pressed into service.
“The divers gave details about the position of boat and the operation will continue,” said an official.
DNA tests
Meanwhile, the team retrieved skeletal remains from the spot where the boat capsized. The remains would be preserved in lab for identification through DNA tests, the officials said.
The victims were from different places in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
