An overcrowded boat capsized in a flooded river in western Nepal on Wednesday, killing two people, AP quoted police as saying. Twenty-six others were reported to be missing. The small boat was crossing the Rapti river near Gawarpur village, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) west of the Nepalese capital, Katmandu, when it capsized, area police chief Roshan Karki said by telephone. The boat was crowded with people crossing the river, which was flooded by monsoon rainfall. Karki said villagers managed to rescue five people while 12 were able to swim to shore. Two bodies, including that of a 2-year-old child, have been recovered, and rescuers are still searching for the missing 26 people, the police official said. Karki said it was unlikely any of the missing people would be found alive but police divers were searching the river. The area is about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the nearest city of Nepalgunj from where officials are coordinating the rescue and the injured people are getting treatment. The villagers were returning back to their homes, and using old wooden boats is the only means to get across the river in this area.
