Odisha boat tragedy: 7 dead as boat capsizes in Mahanadi River
PTC Web Desk: Seven persons died when a boat, carrying 50 passengers, capsized in the Mahanadi river within Odisha's Jharsuguda district on Friday evening. A search and rescue operation continued into Saturday, with one person still unaccounted for.
On Saturday morning, the recovery teams found six bodies, taking the death toll to seven after they found the remains of a woman late Friday evening. As per information, the ill-fated boat was ferrying passengers from the Bandhipali area in Bargarh district. Tragically, midway through the journey, the boat encountered turbulent waters, leading to its tragic capsize near Saradha Ghat in Jharsuguda.
District Collector Kartikeya Goyal provided updates on the ongoing rescue efforts. The Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), alongside the Jharsuguda district administration and state government, continued their search operation for the missing persons.
"We have received information that scuba divers will come from Bhubaneshwar to join the search operation. So far, we have rescued 48 persons and efforts are on to send them back to their villages," Goyal told mediapersons.
"Divers from the ODRAF are very well-trained, equipped with night light equipment. They will carry out one more attempt and will be joined by a team of scuba divers as soon as they arrive," he added.
Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 4 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.
- With inputs from agencies
