Assam boat accident: Indian army joins search for the missing in Brahmaputra river
- Published
The boat capsized in the late afternoon, as people were getting off other vessels
The Indian army has joined rescue operations after a passenger boat capsized following a collision with another vessel in north-east India, officials told the BBC.
One person has died and two people are missing as rescue and search operations continue at the site.
The boat was carrying 90 people when it turned over on the Brahmaputra river near Jorhat in Assam state.
Eighty-seven people have been rescued. Some swam to shore.
"We rescued a lot of people with the help of locals and other disaster response forces," Jorhat Police Superintendent Ankur Jain said.
"We rescued one more girl during the operations but she couldn't make it. So far, there has been one confirmed death."
Mr Jain told the BBC that the army joined rescue operations on Thursday morning, and the Indian Air Force will conduct helicopter sorties to search for any stranded survivors.
Search and rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) carried out operations through Wednesday night into Thursday morning, at the site of the collision.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday spoke to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and said that the government was monitoring the situation continuously, and would "lend all possible help".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that "all possible efforts are being made to rescue the passengers".
The incident happened around 16:30 (11:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
The capsized vessel was coming from Jorhat when it crashed into the boat coming from the opposite direction.
Videos uploaded on social media showed the boat capsizing after the crash, with some people trying to cling on while others jumping into the water.