The bodies of four youths who went missing after a boat capsized in the Kotri canal in Rajasthan's Kota district were recovered on Wednesday morning, around 18 hours after the accident, officials said, according to news agency IANS. The bodies were found approximately 100 metres downstream from the accident site.

The accident occurred around 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday during the immersion of Durga idols. Seven people were swept away when the boat capsized, but three of them — Deepak, Man Kanwar and the boatman, Suresh — managed to reach safety. According to Additional SP Subhash Chandra Mishra, the rescue operation continued until 10.30 p.m. on Tuesday before being suspended due to darkness, and teams resumed the search at 5.30 a.m. on Wednesday.

The bodies of Vikas Verma, alias Suman (22), and Suraj Singh (22) were recovered first. A few hours later, the bodies of Ashu Joshi (19) and Rahul Joshi (18), who were cousins, were also retrieved. SDRF in-charge Ekta Hada said six rescue boats were deployed — three from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and three from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). The search was extended downstream towards Umaidganj, and local fishermen also joined the efforts. The bodies were taken to MBS Hospital for post-mortem examination.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar reached the site after the incident. Dilawar had said on Tuesday that the canal area was prohibited for immersion and no idol ceremony was permitted there, and that the group had gone out in a small boat. The accident took place on the same day water was released into the canal, according to reports.