The death toll in the Chilika boat tragedy rose to six after recovery of four bodies from the lake on Sunday.
A boat, carrying 17 tourists, had capsized on Saturday afternoon in the Chilika lake, about 100 km from here. The tourists were returning from Kalijai temple, a prominent temple located on an island in Chilika.
As soon as the incident took place around 5 p.m., boat operators sailing nearby immediately started rescue operation. They were helped by the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and the Indian Navy. Two bodies were recovered on Saturday while 11 persons were rescued.
The rescue operation was resumed on Sunday. Four bodies were fished out from the Chilika water. Six victims include five women and one boy. They were identified as Pramodini Das, Shradhanjali Das, Meera Patnaik, Kalpana Mohanty, Suchitra Mohanty and Sudhansu Sekhar Das. The victims belonged to Bhubaneswar and Nayagarh area.
Expressing deep sorrow at the loss of lives, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased. The Chief Minister also announced free medical treatment for the injured persons.
