Jajpur: A 75-year-old woman died and two others, including a seven-year-old child, went missing after a fishing boat carrying four members of a family capsized in the Tantighai river in Odisha’s Jajpur district Thursday, police said.
The incident took place around 8.30 am near Gandakula Ghat, close to Daunrakula village, when the family members were crossing the river, a branch of the Kharasrota, police said.
The four occupants of the boat were identified as Hemalata Dalai (75), her daughter Bhama Dalai (58), and her grandsons Subhankar Dalai (7) and Mania Dalai (22), all residents of Mohammad Jamalpur village.
They were returning home after witnessing a Durga Puja immersion procession in Daunrakula village when the boat capsized in the middle of the river, leaving all four in the water, police said.
Local residents jumped into the river and rescued Hemalata and Bhama, while Subhankar and Mania went missing.
The two women were rushed to the district headquarters hospital, where Hemalata died during treatment. Bhama is undergoing treatment, police said, adding that Subhankar and Mania were missing.
“They had come to my home to witness the Durga Puja function in our village a couple of days ago. They were returning home after witnessing an immersion procession this morning when the fishing boat in which they were crossing the river capsized and sank in the middle of the river,” Amar Dalai said.