Boat capsize claims ten lives in Odisha

At least 10 picnickers have died and seven others have gone missing after an overcrowded boat capsized on Sunday in the Hirakud Dam in Odisha.

A boat was carrying approximately 120 people. At least 85 to 90 people were rescued.

"We received a preliminary report that a boat carrying members of the Lions Club for a picnic was drowning. Soon we mobilised our team to rescue the people on the boat. We have rescued 85 to 90 people till now,"said Police officer, Amitabh Panda, from nearby Ainthapali Police Station.

The mishap occurred when the picnickers from Lions Club of Sambalpur, Hirakud and Bargarh, who had gone to the other side of the reservoir on a picnic, were returning.

The dam, one of the world's longest earthen dams, is built across the Mahanadi River, which is about 15 kilometers from Sambalpur District.

Tourists often visit the dam as one can spot numerous species of migratory birds during winter months.