Kendrapara: Around 17 people, including a minor and a septuagenarian, had a lucky escape when the rickety, unauthorised boat in which they were travelling capsized near the banks of river Govari at Bijayanagar ferry ghat here.
Collector Dasarathi Satapathy said the boat, which was carrying six bikes and four bicycles in addition to passengers, was about to travel from the Bijaynagar ferry ghat to Kiarabanka ghat, when it overturned due to overloading. An enquiry will be ordered, he said. The boat capsized when one of the passengers, who was sitting on his bike, tilted.
The boat got unbalanced and the passengers and the vehicles fell into the river. As the mishap occurred near the banks many people swam to safety. The others were rescued by locals. The people later retrieved the motorcycles and bicycles from the river.
A college student was slightly injured in the incident. But some mobile phones were lost. The boat had been ferrying passengers after the mechanised boat which was operating here developed mechanical problems.
PNN