Watch pics of boat capsize in Odisha reservoir, 24 dead, 7 missing

Sambalpu: In a capsize reminiscent of the Titanic, 31 people have lost their lives in a tragic boat capsize, caused due to boat leak and stampede, in the famous Hirakud reservoir in western Odisha. The death toll went up to 24 this morning, with the recovery of 11 more bodies, while seven others are still missing. The comparison with the Titanic is being made because those who were going to be drowned knew they were facing death. The mechanized boat had suddenly leaked, an alternate boat was called in, but as people rushed to board the other boat, the leaking boat lost balance and capsized taking people to their watery grave. The victims saw with their own eyes their relatives sinking in the Mahanadi river water reservoir. Only 13 persons could be rescued by local fishermen and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force men. Five of them were critical and rushed to Burla Medical College Hospital and Sambalpur district hospital.Nearly 100 people saved their lives by jumping on to the standby boat. The names of those dead include Seema Agrawal (38), Santoshi Kumar (50) usha Agrawal (35), Anita Singh (40) Harish Agrawal (10), Poorva Sharma (18), Tania Sharma (14), Manu Tiwari (35), Suschismita Jena (30), Bindiya Sharma (22).The mechanized boat operated by Hirakud water reservoir authorities was booked by local Lions Club members for picnic on Sunday. The picnickers came at 10:30 am, and after finishing their picnic on the other side of reservoir at Tilia, they were returning by the ill-fated boat, which was overloaded with 25 more people and an equal numbers of motorbikes. The motorbike operator requested the passengers to offload because of too heavy loading, but the passengers did not heed to his request. When the boat reached the middle of reservoir, water began to enter the boat. The boat operator made an SOS call and another boat was rushed to the scene. By the time the second boat came, a stampede ensued in which nearly 100 people managed to jump to the other boat, but the remaining 50 people lost their lives. The rescue operation was hampered as dusk fell, and there was little chance of anybody surviving.On Monday, a six-member scuba diver team joined fire fighters and Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force units to trace missing people. Sources said, the boat was carrying 155 people against a capacity of 70. Most of the passengers were picnickers.Nearly 135 people from the Lion's Club of Sambalpur, Hirakud and Bargarh, alongwith 20 others were returning after going to other side of the reservoir for a picnic.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the government would bear the cost of the survivors' treatment.Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who is in Odisha, will visit the accident site today, state party chief Jaydev Jena said.Two Odisha ministers S N Patro and Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya have rushed to the spot.