Fifteen persons were rescued by local fishermen and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were pressed into service to trace the missing persons, a senior police official said.
Bodies of the three people who drowned were taken out from the river.
The incident occurred around 5.45 PM when a private tourism boat was making a trip from Punnami Ghat, Bhavanipuram, to Pavitra Sangamam, Ferry village, the official said.
The overloaded boat capsized midway due to the weight of 38 passengers, the police official said.
The deputy chief minister rushed to the accident spot to oversee the rescue operations and has directed police to rush additional force to help locate the missing persons.
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