In a tragic incident, five persons drowned and seven went missing as a boat carrying around 30 people capsized in the mid of the Biluakhai river near Nachipur village in Jagatsinghpur district on Friday evening.
According to reports, a group of around 30 devotees hired a boat and went to Sidheswar temple in the other side of the river to witness Yajna there. While returning from the temple, the boat capsized in the middle of the river near Nachipur at 7.30 pm.
Five persons died on the spot, seven went missing when the boat drowned. Deceased were identified as Sashirekha (15) and Smrutirekha (17), daughters of Madhabananda Biswal of Nachipur, Sweety (15) and Beauty (17), daughters of Subash Biswal of the same village, and Papu Bhoi (22) of Ninigaon in Jagatsinghpur district. On being informed about the mishap, the Fire brigade and the district police rushed to the spot and swung into action to rescue the devotees trapped in the middle of the river.
Though the reason of the mishap is yet to be known, sources said overcrowded might be a cause behind the incident. Five persons were rushed to a Community Health Centre at Manda Sahi for treatment. Rescue operation is on to search other missing persons, police sources said. In another incident, one person is feared drowned while four others have been rescued after a country boat capsized in the Sileru River in Malkangiri district on Friday.