Guwahati:  Search operations are still on for at least 100 people who have gone missing after a packed steamer carrying over 300 passengers sank in the Brahmaputra river in Assam on Monday after being caught in a severe storm.

Muddy waters,  bad weather and strong currents have hampered search for survivors this morning.  The Army has rushed in two infantry columns, two engineer task forces with six  boats, 12 divers and medical  teams  to assist in the rescue  operations. Besides the Army,  BSF’s water wing, National Disaster Force and police armed with mechanised boats are engaged in a massive rescue operation in the river.

According to local authorities, as of now 100 bodies have been recovered  but with the boat being over packed, and it remaining toppled in the water, authorities are finding it difficult to ascertain the number of people that may be still trapped under it.

Now an eyewitness account suggests that many of the people on the boat may have been killed after they jumped into the water when it appeared that the boat would turn turtle. ” We told the boatman to dock on an island when it became clear that the weather was turning bad. However he refused to listen to us. The boat then began rocking side to side and many of us began panicking. In those moments, people then began jumping off the boat. At least 100 people must have jumped and drowned,” recounted a survivor to the local media.

As with any national tragedy, families of victims also cite government apathy towards them.  “We visited the local district collector’s office but it was locked. Some officers there told us to come back later and one officer told me to go away,” said a victim’s family member. He also alleged that boats were always over packed and with no life jackets, life guards or safety gear a tragedy like this was waiting to happen.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced compensation of Rs. two lakh each for the next of kin of those killed in boat tragedy.

The steamer had left Dhubri ferry ghat for Medartary in south bank of the district in the evening and capsized because of the impact of the storm.