Woman dies, four missing as boat capsizes in Odisha’s Koraput

In a tragic incident, a woman died after the country-made boat carrying them capsized in Tansingh river near Kulasingh panchayat under Padua police limits in Koraput district on Wednesday evening.

Four other persons including a woman, two children, and an adolescent girl have also gone missing in the accident. All the occupants of the boat belonged to Tansingh village.

According to reports, three women along with their children had been to Badela village to attend a wedding function. While returning, the country-made boat capsized in the river near the village.

Following the mishap, the locals informed the police and the nearest fire station at Nandapur about the incident. Subsequently, a search operation was launched.

While the body of a woman was found floating in the river a few hours after the boat tragedy, efforts were underway to trace other missing persons. The Nandapur fire services personnel and a team from Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) were pressed into action in the rescue operation.

The rescue teams could not locate the missing persons till Thursday night and were forced to halt the operation due to darkness and cold. They will again try to search for them on Friday.

It is pertinent to mention here that the boat did not have a boatman. Instead, the victims themselves were rowing the boat when the mishap happened, sources said.