BHUBANESWAR: Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly's brother Snehashish and his wife Arpita had a narrow escape when their speed boat overturned, throwing the couple into the sea water off Puri beach on Saturday evening.
The Ganguly couple was enjoying water sports when the incident took place. Their boat was reportedly hit by a huge tide after which it overturned. The incident occurred over 20 metre inside the sea at about 6 pm on Saturday within Baliapanda police limits.
Videos of the capsized speedboat that went viral showed lifeguards rushing to rescue the tourists using rubber tubes. The boat had a carrying capacity of 10 water sport enthusiasts but the operators apparently allowed only three to four people on board. It was also the last boat to go into the sea for the day.
Arpita reportedly alleged that the boat overturned as it had less number of passengers and the sea was rough. She is reported to have decided to write to Chief Minister and Puri SP requesting them to stop water sports as Puri has a very rough sea. Arpita was in deep shock after the incident and said timely intervention of the lifeguards saved their lives.
Sources said the Tourism department provides contracts to private water sports operators to offer various activities to the tourists visiting the beaches.
"We are verifying whether the operator was working legally and by following due procedures or not. Further action will be taken accordingly," said an officer of Puri Police.