Two passenger boats collided on the Brahmaputra river in Assam on Wednesday afternoon, leaving at least one person dead and around four others missing.

The head-on accident between a larger government vessel and a smaller private ferry occurred around 4pm, roughly 100m from the Nematighat bank in Jorhat district. The smaller boat, Ma Kamala, carrying roughly 70 passengers, capsized almost immediately.

Initial reports had estimated more than 50 people missing amid fears of a high death toll, but as the evening progressed, officials rescued many passengers and some were able to swim to the bank because the accident happened near the jetty.

The capsized boat was carrying around 67-68 passengers. Apart from the 43 rescued, 21 other passengers have been contact traced.