Patna, Sep 11 : One person was drowned and 17 others, mostly women and children, on board a boat were missing after it capsized in Harohar river near Bavgha village of Bihar''s Sheikhpura district on Thursday.

District Magistrate Anjani Kumar Verma camping at the incident site said that local divers fished out a body and efforts were on to trace 17 others who had gone missing after the boat got caught in a whirpool and capsized.

The body recovered by the divers was yet to be identified, he said.

The DM claimed that six people on board the ill-fated boat swam to safety while 17 others were still missing.

The district administration has requisitioned the services of local divers and large fishing nets were being used to fish out the missing people.

Verma said the mishap occurred when the people, all residents of Panapur village, were going to immerse the idols of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati after Karma Puja.(ANI)