The accident occurred late on Wednesday when guests were returning from the party near the city of Pune in Maharashtra. Out of the 28 people, mostly children, on board at the time only two bodies have been recovered, while nine others managed to swim to safety.

A local official, Prabhakar Deshmukh, was quoted by the Indian news portal as saying: "The main reason for this mishap is that the boat was carrying people beyond its capacity. Gutsy winds compounded the problem and the boat capsized."

In a similar accident, sixteen partygoers celebrating the birthday of five-year-old twins in March died on a lake near the Albanian capital of Tirana after their boat capsized. Following the capsize a total of 16 bodies, including the twin boys, were recovered. Four people survived the tragedy.