Boat capsizes Jamadarpali Ghat near Hirakud dam in Odisha, 29 killed, Rahul Gandhi is on a two-day tour of Odisha and will visit the accident site.

With the recovery of  more bodies, the toll in the boat mishap in Hirakud reservoir in Sambalpur district, Odisha, on Monday rose to 29.


"At least 29 bodies have so far been recovered and three more are still missing," said Special Relief Commissioner P K Mohapatra in Bhubaneswar.



The search team had on Sunday rescued nearly 80 people and fished out 11 bodies from the water.


The incident took place on Sunday when around 120 people from the Lion’s Club of Sambalpur, Hirakud and Bargarh, were returning after going to other side of the reservoir for a picnic.


Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi visited the site of accident in Hirakud reservoir and conducted an aerial survey of the area.


Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is in New Delhi, has asked Revenue and Disaster Minister S D N Patro and Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya to visit the spot.


Locals said people panicked when water began to flood the boat from numerous leaks. Many jumped out to get into two other boats travelling close by. This led to the accident as the boat lost balance and capsized.