BERHAMPUR: A leisurely boat ride turned into a harrowing ordeal for a group of tourists visiting Chilika Lake when their boatman, Bikram Jali (55), mysteriously vanished during a dolphin-watching tour on Wednesday.
The incident occurred in the afternoon as Jali, a resident of Balabhadra village near Satapada, took eight tourists, including three children and two women from West Bengal, on a boat ride into the expansive waters of Chilika Lake.
The ride commenced at around 2 pm from Satapada. In a while, Jali, while trying to restart the boat’s motor for the return journey, reportedly slipped into the brackish waters near an island inside the lake and went missing, leaving the stranded tourists in a state of shock.
Fearing for their safety, the distressed tourists called up the emergency number for assistance. Soon, the local police, along with fire brigade personnel and other boat operators, initiated a rescue operation. Although the team managed to rescue the tourists and brought them back safely to the shore, they failed to locate the boatman till 5 pm.
However, the tourists alleged that Jali appeared to be in an inebriated state during the trip, raising concerns about the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. A six-member fire team will continue to search for the missing boatman, said Satapada police outpost officer Ashok Gachhayat, who was overseeing the rescue efforts.