Nine children among 10 killed after boat capsizes in India

AHMEDABAD (AFP) - At least 10 people, including nine children, drowned when a boat capsized Thursday in western India, officials said, with a search on to find more of the missing.

The incident happened in Gujarat state as students were travelling to a picnic organised by their school. Dozens of people joined a frantic search for survivors around the lake where the boat capsized.

The victims include children aged as young as 10, along with one of their teachers, an official from Vadodara district involved in rescue operations, who did not give their name, told AFP.

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear but the official said 27 people were believed to be aboard. Vadodara municipal commissioner Dilip Rana confirmed the toll to AFP but did not provide further information on the victims.

Fatal boat accidents are common on Indian waterways. Last year, at least 22 people were killed when their double-decker tourist boat capsized in the southern state of Kerala.

Survivors of that accident told local media that many of the passengers were not wearing life jackets.