[Watch] Chilika Boat Mishap: Body Of Missing Person Recovered

Bhubaneswar: Body of the boat passenger, who went missing after the vessel capsized in Chilika lake on Thursday, was retrieved by Fire and Navy  personnel on Friday. He has been identified as Rajkishore Khuntia (60) of Kodapur in Balugaon.

Five teams of Navy and fire personnel were engaged in the rescue operation after the boat overturned near Chadheiguha hill around 4.30 pm on Thursday due to nor’wester-induced heavy wind and rain. The boat lost its balance because of the wind, said local police.

The boat was carrying 12 persons, including two boatmen, when it overturned while returning from Kalijai island to Balugaon in Khurda district. The passengers included 9 tourists from Nilagiri in Balasore district, boat driver, a shopkeeper and his worker.

While 11 persons were rescued soon after the incident, one person went missing.

“We had some work at Barkul Panthanivas on the bank of Chilika lake. When we got information about the incident at around 5 pm, we immediately reached the spot with our staff. We rescued 11 persons,” said Manas Ranjan Barik, Balugaon SDPO.

The missing person was a shopkeeper of Balugaon and was running a shop at Kalijai island.