Death Toll In Kendrapara Boat Tragedy Rises To 10

Kendrapara: Two days after the tragic boat mishap, the ODRAF team on Friday recovered body of a six-year-old girl of Hasina village of Kujang block in Jagatsinghpur district.

The deceased has been identified as Subhasmitra Swain.

With this the death toll in the accident mounted to 10.

On Thursday evening, two women and seven children, who had drowned when a boat capsized in the Mahanadi confluence at Balighat near Nepania in Kendrapara district, were cremated at Hasina village after the bodies were handed over to their family members.

The deceased have been identified as Pravati Swain, Sonakhi Dalai (3), Debasish Sahu (10), Dhuna Sahu (10), Rosalin Sahu (14), Anupama Tarai (30), Pravanjan Tarai (4), Sushree Pallavi Swain (5) and Debasmita Pani (6).

Talking to the media on Thursday, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi had said that the over-crowded ill-fated fishing boat had no life jackets.

Meanwhile, tension ran high in the village on Friday as irate villagers, demanding more compensation, did not allow three BJD leaders Prafulla Samal, Kulamani Samal and Debasis Samanatray to handover the ex-gratia amount to the bereaved families.

The villagers also protested against the BJD leaders for not consult their sarpanch on this matter. Following the protest, some families did not accept the ex-gratia.