CUTTACK: A boat carrying over 30 people including eight children capsized in the Mahanadi river near Athagarh’s Kandarpur area reportedly due to overloading, here on Wednesday evening.
Sources said the passengers were returning from the Shiva temple located on an island in the middle of the river after attending a Kartika Purnima fair when the incident took place. As the boat overturned, all the passengers fell into the river. However, they were all rescued safely.
Eyewitnesses said while some passengers managed to swim to safety, others were rescued by the locals who were present nearby. On being informed, police and officials of the local administration reached the spot and launched a probe to ascertain the reason behind the incident.
“We are looking into the matter to ascertain whether the boat was overloaded or operating without proper safety measures,” said an official.
As per sources, as it was Kartika Purnima, several boats were ferrying devotees to and from the Shiva temple on the Amangeikuda island in Mahanadi river. The boat capsized while ferrying back the devotees possibly due to overloading, they added.