The accident took place when two boats, both carrying Bihari pilgrims who had gone to take the holy dip in the Brahmaputra on the occasion of Chhat Puja, collided about 50 metres from the Sukleswar ghat at around 5:30 a.m. today.

A massive rescue operation launched by district authorities with help of army personnel however has failed to fish out even a single body. Two contingents of army divers have been flown in from Goalpara and Jorhat to search the river for the dead.

Kamrup deputy commissioner DN Saikia said one of the survivors of the boat which capsized after being hit by another, told authorities that there were between 20 and 25 persons on the boat. The authorities have so far registered names of only 18 persons on the basis of FIR lodged in the Panbazar police station by the affected families.

According to eye-witnesses, theboat carrying a number of persons, mostly young boys and girls was hit perpendicularly by another boat even as it was approaching the ghat after the passengers had taken a joy ride while the women-folk were performing the Chhat Puja on the river bank.

District authorities have ordered a magisterial probe into the tragedy, while operations by the army divers was continuing late into the evening.

The river being still in full spate due to the recent rains in the catchment area, has strong under-current, which is believed to have washed away the bodies of the victims down-stream, Saikia said.

Today's is the biggest boat tragedy in the Brahmaputra since the last two years, the previous accident taking the lives of about 100 persons near Palashbari, about 50 km from here in November 1996.