Two Sisters’ Valour That Saved 10 Lives In Mahanadi Boat Capsize

Kendrapara: Two sisters risked their life to save people from drowning in the tragic boat capsize incident at Mahanadi river confluence in Odisha’s Kendrapara district on Wednesday night.

The death toll in the mishap has mounted to 10 and the deceased identified as Prabhati Swain, Ishan Dalei, Sushree Pallavi Swain, Anu Tarai, Sai Tarai, Debashish Sahu, Debasmita Pani, Tojain Sahu, Subhashree Swain and Dhanu Sahu.

The tragedy hit the picnickers when they were returning home after spending the day at lighthouse at Hukitola in a country boat. It capsized near Nipania under Mahakalapada block in Kendrapara district.

The two sisters, Sasmita Giri and Purnima Giri, reached the spot on hearing screams, but by then the boat had capsized completely.

A portion of the river was crocodile-infested, but they cared little and jumped in to save lives in the cold wintry night. The sister-duo managed to bring 10 persons, including two women and some children, ashore. “We could not save others as they were trapped under the overturned boat. It was painful to see them drown,” they said.

Local fishermen too had rescued about 30 passengers last night. The picnickers were from Mangarajpur in Kujang block of Jagatsinghpur district and the country boat was reportedly overloaded, sources said.