Bhubaneswar: Around 40 people were stranded in the middle of Chilika lake in Odisha as the mechanised boat ferrying them developed technical snags on Sunday.
According to sources, the boat with the passengers and 20 two-wheelers left Satapada jetty in Chilika lake under Krushnaparasad block of Puri district to go to Jahnikuda in the afternoon.
After going for a distance, the boat developed some technical snag and its engine stopped functioning. With the boat stranded in the middle of the lake, the passengers got panic. However, the boat’s operators informed the Forest department and their owner.
Later, the fishermen of two country boats, who had gone for fishing in the lake, sighted the stranded boat. They were trying to rescue the passengers and bring them back, the sources said.