2 More Bodies Found; Boat Tragedy Toll Rises to 8

Malkangiri (Reporters Today Bureau): The death toll in the boat tragedy of Odishas Malkangiri district mounted to eight after two more bodies were fished out from the Sileru river on Wednesday, police said. The incident took place on May 24 when 11 members of three families were returning home from Telangana in a country boat as the land border between the two states was sealed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

In order to avoid the police and the mandatory quarantine after entering Odisha, they had taken the river route. While eight two women and six children — drowned, three others swam to safety, police said. While fire brigade personnel recovered six bodies on Tuesday, they fished out those of a woman and a child on Wednesday, police said.

The 11 people hailed from Kandhaguda and Gunthawada villages. Several of them used to work in a brick kiln in the neighbouring state. Malkangiri Collector Dr Yeddula Vijay supervised the rescue operation.