Over 50 passengers stranded after boat gets stuck midway in Odisha’s Chilika

In yet another alarming incident on Chilika Lake, a passenger boat carrying more than 50 tourists from Satapada to Janhikuda got stranded on Monday in the middle of the lake due to a mechanical failure. The incident left the passengers anxious until help arrived.

Also Read: Boat carrying around 40 passengers stranded in Chilika Lake due to mechanical failure

According to local sources, the boat’s engine developed a technical snag, causing it to stop midway in the vast brackish water lagoon. Rescue efforts were soon initiated to bring the stranded passengers to safety in Puri district.

This comes just hours after another similar mishap, when a boat travelling the same route from Satapada to Janhikuda was stuck near Mahisa Kuda earlier in the morning. Preliminary reports suggest the engine slab had cracked, leading to a complete breakdown.

Authorities are now investigating the cause of repeated technical glitches and have advised boat operators to conduct thorough maintenance checks before ferrying passengers.

Worth mentioning, earlier in another incident, a passenger ferry travelling across the lake had stranded for over an hour on October 19 due to a mechanical failure. The incident occurred while the ferry was en route from Janhikuda to Satapada.

Eyewitnesses said that the engine suddenly stopped, and despite several attempts by the crew to restart it, the vessel remained stalled.

Boat services across Chilika Lake in Puri district had also come to a complete halt, as strong winds lashed the region, making water transport unsafe on October 2 this year. The popular Janhikuda-Satapada route, which spans around five kilometres, remained suspended for the entire day due to rough weather conditions.

More than a hundred passengers, many of them tourists and locals, were stranded, waiting for the situation to improve so they could cross to the other side of the lake.

Reported By: Nilakantha Pradhan