Puri: A floating bridge vessel with around 100 passengers and several vehicles on board got stuck in Chilika lake near Satapada in Odisha’s Puri district on Sunday.
According to sources, the incident took place when the floating bridge vessel or ‘Bhasa Pola’ was proceeding from Satapadi to Janhikuda under Krushnaprasad block of the district in the morning, leaving over 100 people stranded.
Apart from the passengers, the vessel was carrying two buses and some other vehicles were stranded after the floating bridge vessel developed technical snag during its journey to Janhikuda from Satpada on Sunday.
After getting information, officials rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation to bring the stranded passengers to safety. Special boars were pressed into service to shift the passengers to the shore, sources said.
While the exact reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained, the vessel was stated to have got stuck due to receding water level in the lake, they said.
It may be recalled here that earlier also floating bridge vessel with passengers had got stranded in the middle of Chilika. Around 60 passengers were stranded after a Bhasa Pola got stuck in the lake in July last year. Such incidents have become as a matter of serious concern.
