Gadchiroli, Jan 23 (IANS): In a major tragedy, six women farm labourers were missing and feared drowned and one was rescued when a boat in which they were sailing suddenly capsized in the Wainganga River in Chamorshi on the Gadchiroli-Chandrapur district border in Maharashtra on Tuesday, officials said.

The incident occurred around 11 a.m. when the seven women from Ganapur village of Gadchiroli took their routine boat ride to the chilli farms on the opposite shore falling in Chandrapur district.

According to the District Disaster Management Officer Nilesh Teltumbade, the boat suddenly overturned throwing the women and boatman into the waters, running more than 8 feet deep in some sections.

"The boatman managed to rescue one of the victims, and brought her ashore safely. After an intensive search downstream, we have recovered two bodies so far. The remaining four bodies are still untraced and we will resume the search tomorrow at dawn," Teltumbade told IANS.

Soon after the incident local village youths who could swim and dive rushed to the rescue operations and later the Chamorshi Police’s expert divers also joined the efforts till dusk, even as a pall of gloom fell over the small village.

Teltumbade said that many of the Ganapur villagers take the boat both ways to go to work in the agriculture farms on the opposite bank of the river and return home in the evening as a daily routine.

The identity of the women victims is awaited and a district official said that the tragedy will be probed to ascertain the causes, tentatively believed to be strong underwater currents that may have sent the boat out of control and capsized it.