Many dead when Indian river ferry sinks The vessel foundered in storm conditions that continued to hamper the rescuers. It happened in the state of Assam on a stretch of the Brahmaputra river where it was about a kilometre wide. Eyewitnesses told police the vessel was old and broke in two after capsizing in the river that was swollen with rain. Smaller boats often get into trouble on the river, but the ferry was the largest to sink in recent years. The vessel was carrying mainly local farmers and their families when it tipped over in the bad weather. Police said it was carrying sacks of rice and other goods, but was not equipped with lifeboats nor life jackets. More about: Accident, India, Rescue, Shipwrecks, Victims