Two employees of regional news channel Odisha Television (OTV) -- chief reporter Arindam Das and cameraperson Prabhat Sinha -- were also there in the rescue boat, which overturned and capsized due to the strong current in the river.
The Chief Minister, who would visit Nimati Ghat on Thursday for evaluating the situation, also directed Power Minister Bimal Bora to immediately visit the incident site to take stock of the situation. He asked his Principal Secretary, Samir Kumar Sinha to monitor the developments round-the-clock.
Most of the migrants came from the Horn of Africa, an official confirmed
The 15-member village party had gone to attend the 13th day post-funeral rites of some relative in Atukpalli village
The police said that a novice was allegedly at the helm of Moyur-2 when it slammed into the boat causing it to capsize.
The accident took place on the Bihar-Bengal border at about 8.15pm on Thursday night close to Jagannathpur Ghat when residents of Wajidpur village were returning after shopping in Rampur Haat market of the adjoining state, situated right across the river.
The accident took place around 4.30 am at Khatlapura Ghat of the lower lake near the newly renovated state police headquarters and the State Disaster Rescue Team (SDRF).
Five teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been airlifted from Punjab for rescue operations in Maharashtra.
The accidents occurred on Saturday off the rough seas between the city of Iloilo and Guimaras province amid heavy rains, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
There were 33 people in all on board the ill-fated ferry boat; they were returning from a local festival on Kurumgad island
