In a shocking incident, a TV journalist died and an Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) personnel went missing when the powerboat in which they were travelling capsized due to the heavy current of the Mahanadi near the Mundali barrage here on Friday afternoon.
The ODRAF boat with five jawans on it was engaged in a rescue mission to save an elephant stuck near the barrage while trying to cross the swollen river.“Two journalists of a local TV channel had got on to the ODRAF boat for coverage of the risky rescue mission when the overloaded boat capsized and all the occupants on it slipped from the rubber boat one after another,” said police. While two jawans swam ashore, four other occupants, including the two journalists, were rescued in critical conditions after much struggle. They were immediately rushed to the SCB Hospital here, where the doctors declared OTV journalist Arindam Das as brought dead. “We tried to revive him for over an hour, but all our efforts failed,” said Hospital Emergency Officer BN Moharana.
Another journalist, Pravat Sinha, was undergoing treatment in the ICU of medicine department, Moharana said, adding that one of the rescued ODRAF personnel is also in a critical condition. Meanwhile, forest officials from Chandaka and Athgarh Divisions were still trying to rescue the stranded tusker, which has been in waters for over 12 hours now. “A herd of 17 elephants were trying to cross the river. While 11 managed to reach the bank on the side of Chandaka, a sub-adult tusker came in the centre of swirling waters and was swept away,” said Chandaka Division DFO Md Jameel. Eminent persons from all walks of life deeply mourned the demise of Arindam, a bright figure among young journalists.