Balugaon: Seventeen visitors and two boatmen suffered a huge scare when they got stranded in the Chilika lake for over six hours Sunday night. They were finally rescued at about 11.30pm Sunday night.
Sources said, 17 visitors including a few children from Chilika Penth area at Sorana near Kuhudi under Chilika tehsil in Khurda district had set out on a trip on the lake by boat Sunday morning. They first went to Kalijai and also visited Nalabana.
On their way back, the boat’s engine conked out leaving everyone stranded. It was 5.30pm in the evening and by then a thick fog was engulfing the entire locality. The fog also made it difficult for the boatmen to identify directions.
With no option left, the panicked passengers contacted their friends and relatives over phone. After getting information about the situation, additional tehsildar, Chilika, Apanna Dangua contacted Balugaon fire station asking them to take immediate steps to rescue the stranded visitors.
A team led by fire officer Nityananda Jena left from Balugaon jetty for the stranded boat. Initially it was difficult for the rescue team to locate the boat with the stranded visitors. However, due to the alertness of the visitors they managed to locate the boat. They continuously flashed the lights on their mobile phones which helped the rescue team to locate them. Finally they were rescued after spending more than six hours of their lives in apprehension and anxiety.
PNN