JHARSUGUDA : The death toll from the tragic boat capsize incident in Mahanadi reached eight on Saturday as rescue operations concluded, prompting the district administration to suspend ferry services at the Saradha Ferry Ghat until further notice.
The incident occurred when the ill-fated boat, returning from Maa Patharseni Mandir to Saradha Ferry Ghat with 50 passengers aboard, lost balance and capsized, leaving eight passengers missing. Local fishermen initiated rescue efforts, saving several passengers, but eight individuals remained missing.
The first victim, Radhika Nisad (40), was recovered on Friday. On Saturday, with the assistance of scuba divers and the ODRAF team from Bhubaneswar, seven more bodies were retrieved. The deceased, identified as residents of Anjoripalli village under Kharasia PS of Raigarh district, Chhattisgarh, include Teras Bai Rathia (60), Radhika Rathia (35), Ghasnin Bai Rathia (40), Lachmin Bai Rathia (40), Kunal Rathia (9), Nabin Rathia (7), and Tikeswar Rathia (7).
Superintendent of Police Smit P Parmar confirmed the recovery of all bodies. “All the eight bodies have been recovered. We have sent the bodies for postmortem and then handed over to the families,” he said.
Two sailors and the sarpanch of Remada panchayat are currently under interrogation at Rengali PS, with overloading identified as the likely cause of the tragedy pending official investigation reports.
The incident has sparked concerns over the operation of boats and alleged negligence by local authorities. Prior complaints regarding illegal boat services, including one filed by Madhu Pandey of Kiritmal at the district collector’s grievance cell, yielded little or no result as regulatory mechanisms allegedly remain ineffective.