Three bodies have been recovered from Mahanadi river in Odisha's Jharsuguda after a boat capsized here on Friday killing initially two people while seven had gone missing.
The incident happened when the boat, carrying around 50 people, was going from Patharseni Kuda to Banjipalli in Bargarh district.
The boat had capsized when it was about to reach Sarada Ghat under Rengali police station limits in Jharsuguda district, according to a police officer.
A video showed a local fisherman rescuing the passengers from the capsized boat, and as per a PTI report, the fisherman rescued 35 passengers and brought them to the bank.
Upon recieving the information, nearby police teams and fire teams reached the spot and launched a rescue operation, Jharsuguda Superintendent of Police Smit Parmar said. Five divers were also part of the rescue operation.
The police and fire services personnel later rescued seven more people.
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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief on the loss of lives and announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.
"Chief Minister Shri @Naveen_Odisha has expressed grief after learning about the loss of life in a boat accident near Lakhanpur in Jharsuguda district. Expressing deep condolences to the bereaved families, he also announced ex-gratia assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased," said the Chief Minister's Office in a social media post on X.
"The Chief Minister has directed the district administration to provide proper treatment to all those rescued in the accident. He also wished for the speedy recovery of all the injured," the statement read further.