‘We were dancing when the boat turned over’

“We started from Kolkata at round 9 am. At around 1 pm the cruise began. The boat had a capacity for 19 but the sailor said it could accommodate 30 people. So we went ahead. We were dancing and singing when the boat tumbled. Before we could shout for help we were in the water and struggling to get hold of anything that could stay help us stay afloat. I could see Sumit and Sajal close to me. Since I could swim I held them. A boat coming towards us and I threw Sajal in it and began swimming with Sumit. We swam ashore but both of us lost our senses after that,” recalled the teenager. Arvind,too,fell unconscious after swimming to the shores.

The three were discharged from hospital late at night and returned to the city today. Four-year-old Sajal is still in trauma and has not uttered a single word.

Meanwhile,Indrawati Sahani is still waiting for his three sons — Ashis (8),Ajai (5) and Avijit (14)— and has not had a drop of water since the news came in.

“I allowed my sons to go with their father. But my husband could not return them to me. When I asked him about my son he said he would not return if he cannot get my children back,” said a bereaved Indrawati,a resident of 20,Ultadanga Main Road.

Vicky Sonkar (24),Vishal (13),Sunny (24) and Sanjai (13) of the Sonkar family are also missing. A team of 62 people of the area went to Kolaghat for a picnic organized by the local Kalidas Sporting Club.

Thirteen persons,residing in the same locality,are yet to be traced.