Wardha (Maharashtra), Sep 14 (IANS): At least 11 persons were feared to have drowned in Maharashtra's Wardha River after an overloaded boat with 30 persons aboard suddenly capsized on Tuesday, police said.

The incident occurred at around 10 a.m. when the boat was sailing to the opposite bank of the river near Shrikshetra Jhunjh, falling under the jurisdiction of Benoda Shaheed Police Station.

Hearing the cries for help, several villagers jumped into the river to save the people and alerted the local police.

Till afternoon, three bodies have been recovered while another eight are still reported missing. The rest have survived with minor injuries.

The police along with teams of divers and the villagers have launched a massive search operation for the missing who are feared drowned over four hours after the incident.

Locals said that owing to heavy rains, the Wardha River has been swollen since the past one week in Wardha, Amravati, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts.

Though the exact cause of the mishap is not clear, villagers said it may have sunk as it was packed over its capacity and the victims may have been dragged away by the strong currents.