Local fishermen have rescued 35 passengers and brought them to shore.

Bhubaneswar:

At least two people were killed and seven others missing after a boat they were traveling in capsized in the Mahanadi river in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district on Friday, police said.

The boat, which was carrying around 50 passengers, was traveling from Pattasnikuda to Panjpally in Bargarh district when the incident took place.

A police officer said the boat capsized when it was about to reach Sarada Ghat, Lungali police station in Jharsuguda district.

He said local fishermen had rescued 35 passengers and brought them to shore.

Police and fire crews later rescued seven more passengers, he said.

Seven other passengers are still missing and a search operation has been launched, police officials said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced a relief fund of Rs 4 lakh for the families of the victims and sent five divers to participate in the rescue operation.

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