Agonising wait for families of missing Odisha persons 

The families of those missing in the tragedy have been camping at Roda Brahmani Ghat and Kamagara Ghat in Kamakshyanagar to witness the rescue operation.
Rescue operation underway to trace missing persons after a boat capsized in Dhenkanal district on Saturday. (Photo | EPS)
Rescue operation underway to trace missing persons after a boat capsized in Dhenkanal district on Saturday. (Photo | EPS)

DHENKANAL: For the families of four persons, who went missing after a boat carrying them capsized in Brahmani river, the wait for news of their loved ones keeps getting longer.

More than 24 hours have passed since the boat, carrying nine persons, including two boatmen from Khadakprasad Ghat to Roda Ghat in Parjang block, capsized in the river. The boat overturned 15 minutes after it left Khadakprasad Ghat. While five of the occupants managed to swim to safety, the fate of four is still unknown. It is alleged that the boat was being operated illegally and did not have the required documents.

The families of those missing in the tragedy have been camping at Roda Brahmani Ghat and Kamagara Ghat in Kamakshyanagar to witness the rescue operation. One of the survivors, Ajay Nayak, said he had talked to his brother Bijay before the mishap but the latter was not fortunate enough to swim to the banks of the river. Kamakshyanagar Sub-Collector Bishnu Prasad Acharya said ODRAF teams and fire brigade personnel are engaged in the rescue operation.

He said none of the missing has been traced yet. A 29-member team of NDRF too has reached the spot and will join the rescue efforts from Kamagara from 7 am onwards on Monday. Acharya assured that the rescue operation will continue till all the missing persons are traced.

Former Rajya Sabha member Rudra Narayan Pany and district BJP president Bibhuti Bhusan Pradhan visited Roda village and met the families of the missing persons. Those yet to be traced after the mishap are Biswajit Acharya, Ramesh Sahoo, Susant Sahoo and Bijay Nayak.

30 escape narrowly
Balasore: As many as 30 people escaped narrowly when a boat ferrying them  capsized in Budhabalanga river at Haladia Ghat in Remuna on Sunday evening. They were returning to their village at Padmapur from a weekly market at Haladia when the mishap took place. All the villagers reached Padmapur Ghat by swimming as it was closer to the mishap spot. Fire personnel and ODRAF team rushed to the spot. They started a search operation to trace anyone missing. Remuna IIC Subranshu Sekhar Nayak said apart from 30 villagers, two motorcycles and four bicycles were loaded in the boat. The boat capsized due to overloading, he added.

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