Kendrapara: A 14-year-old boy drowned and the boatman went missing when a mechanised boat overturned in river Brahmani near Ekmania ghat while on its way from Dakhinadiha to Keradagada Thursday morning.
More than 30 passengers swam to safety after the mechanised boat overturned and capsized while negotiating a whirlpool.
The deceased has been identified as Debendra Behera from Dakhinadiha village. Boatman Sudarshan Swain was missing at the time of filing this report.
Police sources said about 30 people from Ekamania, Dakhinadiha and Nalapahi villages under Aul block boarded the boat at Dakhinidiha ghat to ferry the Brahmani river in order to catch a private bus for Cuttack on the other side of the river.
Along with the passengers, nearly eight two-wheelers were loaded on the boat.
The boat hit an underwater sand mound and was stranded in the river. It was, however, overturned and capsized.
Later a search and rescue operation was carried out by the local Fire services personnel. After an hour, the rescue team managed to fish out the body of Debendra Behera but failed to trace the missing boatman.
Local police seized the body and sent it for autopsy to a nearby hospital.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed his grief over the incident and announced compassionate assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the family members of the deceased.
Patnaik directed the Kendrapara district collector to pay the assistance to the family before Thursday evening and expressed his sympathies to the bereaved family members.
UNI
