Jharsuguda Boat Tragedy Death Tol Rises to 5 With Recovery of 3 More Bodies

Jharsuguda: The death toll in the Jharsuguda boat tragedy rose to five with the recovery of three more bodies. The deceased included two minor boys and two women.

This major boat mishap occurred in the Mahanadi River in  Jharsuguda district.

Bodies of the drowned persons were recovered by the personnel of the ODRAF and fire services during a search operation in the Hirakud Dam reservoir.

The deceased were identified as inhabitants of the Kharseni area of neighbouring Chhattisgarh. They were travelling on the ferry to Patharseni under Ambavona Block when the accident occurred.

According to reports, at the time of the accident, the boat was jam-packed with over 50 passengers. It lost balance and capsized in the Hirakud Dam reservoir near the Sarada ghat under the Rengali station limits on Friday afternoon.

Local fishermen managed to rescue over 40 passengers.

Expressing grief over deaths in the boat tragedy, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased persons. He directed the officials to send five scuba divers and two search cameras to Jharsuguda to trace the missing persons.

He also directed the local administration to provide adequate treatment to the rescued persons admitted at the hospital following the mishap.