Engineering student goes missing after boat catches fire in Hyderabad, mishap during firework display for R-Day

The mishap occurred during the display of fireworks as part of the 'Bharat Mata Maha Aarti' programme organised on Sunday night for Republic Day.

The Hyderabad city police are searching for an engineering student who went missing in Hussain Sagar Lake here, after a boat he was in caught fire due to fireworks, police said on Monday.

The engineering student identified as Ajay was in the boat along with friends when it caught fire during a firework display event. Police said his friends were safe but Ajay could not be traced so far. (Representational image/Waseem Andrabi /HT)

The fireworks were displayed as part of the 'Bharat Mata Maha Aarti' programme organised on Sunday night on the occasion of the Republic Day.

The mishap occurred a short while after Union Minister G Kishan Reddy and Governor Jishnu Dev Varma left the venue after attending the event.

Ajay was also in the boat along with friends when it caught fire. However, his friends were safe and Ajay could not be traced so far, a police official said.

Family members of Ajay approached the police saying that the student who went to Hussain Sagar for the programme did not return.