Cuttack: A youth went missing as a country boat capsized in river Mahanadi in Odisha’s Cuttack district on Thursday.
As per reports, four youths had come on a visit to their friend’s house at Kandahata village near Gopalpur in Banki area of the district in the morning. Later, all five friends went to Mahanadi flowing nearby and went inside the river in a country boat of fishermen.
After going some distance by rowing, one of the four youths slipped and fell from the boat. While four others tried to save him, the boat capsized and they were also thrown into the water. With the help of the local people, the four friends swam across to the river bank.
As the fifth person, identified as 23-year-old Rajat Nayak of Saptasajya in Dhenkanal district did not surface in river water, they informed the Fire Brigade.
Two teams of Fire personnel from Dampada and Banki along with the locals were engaged in searching for Rajat in the river. On the instruction of DG, Fire and Emergency Services, under-water search camera with personnel moved from Cuttack to that spot for assisting in search operation.
The search operation was going on till the report was filed, but Rajat had not been traced.