2 dead, 7 missing as boat with 50 people capsizes in Odisha

At least two persons were killed and seven others, including four women and three children, were missing as the boat they were travelling in capsized in Mahanadi River in Odisha's Jharsuguda district on Friday, police said.

The incident took place when around 50 passengers hailing from Kharsia area in the neighbouring Chhattisgarh were returning in the boat after visiting a temple in Patharseni Kuda in Odisha's Bargarh district.

The boat capsized as it was about to reach Sarada Ghat in Rengali police station in Jharsuguda district, a police officer said.

Local fishermen rescued 35 passengers and brought them to the bank, he said, adding that police and fire services personnel rescued seven more passengers.

Seven other passengers are still missing and a search operation has been launched, the police officer said.

"The missing persons comprised four women and three children. The search and rescue operation will continue till the last person is located," Northen Range IG Himansu Lal told PTI over phone.

The IG said four teams have been formed and at least five scuba divers along with two underwater search cameras deployed in the search operation.

Lal said personnel of ODRAF (Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force) has also been engaged in the operation.

While Chief Secretary P K Jena and Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Satyabrata Sahu have been monitoring the rescue and relief operation from Bhubaneswar, revenue divisional commissioner (RDC), Jharsuguda district collector and SP are present at the river bank and supervising the operation.

The scuba divers and underwater search cameras were taken to the site through a special flight from Bhubaneswar.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 4 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.

Local Bargarh MP and senior BJP leader Suresh Pujari, who reached the spot, alleged, "The boat was operating without a valid license. It was not accorded fitness certificate by the authority concerned and there was no life guard on it." The Bargarh MP also claimed that the boat was overcrowded and ferrying around 50 people much beyond its capacity.

Meanwhile, district authorities said that the incident will be probed but at present, priority was to rescue the missing persons.

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