Puri: Around 80 passengers had a harrowing experience after the floating bridge vessel ferrying them got stuck in Chilika lake due to extreme weather condition on Saturday.
As per reports, a bus, several cars and some motorcycles were loaded onto the vessel which was on its way to Satpada from Janhikuda area.
Sources said that the vessel got stuck after it got deviated from the channel dug, which was by Chilka Development Authority (CDA), under the impact of strong winds.
Narrating the ordeal, a passenger Rakesh Pradhan said, “It was a terrifying moment after the vessel got dashed against something in the water and got stuck. We suspect that the driver of the vessel failed to control its path in the channel due to strong winds.”
Pradhan further informed that the floating vessel got stuck some 150 meters away from the shore. Many believe that the authorities should have adopted certain precautions keeping in mind the extreme weather conditions.
The floating bridge service was earlier launched by the authorities keeping in view the problems faced by the people of several areas in the district in crossing the lake.
Meanwhile, efforts were subsequently taken by the concerned authorities to rescue the stranded passengers. As per reports, all the passengers were rescued with the help of a small floating vessel.