Over 50 feared dead in boat tragedy

KUMARAKOM, India (CNN) -- At least 29 people, and perhaps as many as 55, have died when a boat capsized on a lake near the tourist town of Kumarakom in southern India.

There may have been as many as 300 people on the boat which was designed to carry only about 110.

Most of the dead were young people on their way to take a public service exam to become local administrators.

The bodies of 32 victims have been recovered so far.

Preliminary reports indicated the boat was overloaded, said a senior official for Kerala's Kottayam District.

The passenger boat, belonging to the Kerala State Water Transport Corporation, capsized early Saturday in the Vembanad area, police said.

Indian Navy helicopters were conducting aerial surveys, and navy divers were looking in the water for more bodies or survivors.

"The boat with a passenger capacity of 110 people was carrying about 300 passengers, and this overcrowding was the reason for the tragedy," local resident Ragesh G. Pillai told Associated Press.

The boat was ferrrying passengers from Muhama to Kumarakom, 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the port city of Cochin.