Video shows the speedboat upside down in a rough sea as lifeguards continued to rescue all the tourists.
Cricketer Sourav Ganguly's brother Snehasish Ganguly and his wife Arpita had a narrow escape in Odisha on Sunday after a speedboat they were in capsized in the sea. The Gangulys, on holiday in Puri, were enjoying a water sports activity on the beach when the incident took place.
A viral video shows the speedboat upside down in the rough sea waters as lifeguards try to rescue tourists. Officials used rubber floats to rescue them.
Arpita Ganguly alleged that the boat was light due to a lesser capacity of passengers on the boat, leading to its overturning.
"The sea was already very rough. There was a capacity of 10 people on the boat, but due to the greed for money, they allowed only three to four people on board. This was the last boat to go into the sea for the day. We had raised concerns over going into the sea, but the operators told us that it is fine," Ms Ganguly shared.
She said that as soon as they went into the sea, a huge wave hit the boat.
"If the lifeguards had not come, we would not have been saved. I'm still in trauma...never faced something like this. If there were more people on the boat, maybe it would not have flipped," she said.
Ms Ganguly also called for greater scrutiny of operators who operate the boats for such activities.
"Authorities should ban these sports here. Puri beach has a very rough sea. I will write a letter to the Superintendent of Police and the Chief Minister once I go back to Kolkata, asking them to stop watersports here," she said.
Heavy rains are expected in coastal Odisha as a low pressure area is likely to form over west-central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said. The national weather forecaster has predicted heavy rainfall in some places in the state this week. Rainfall is expected in Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, and Koraput districts on Tuesday and Puri, Khurdah, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, and Malkangiri districts on Wednesday.
The regional weather office has also forecast light to moderate rainfall and thundershower activity in many parts of the state between Monday and Friday, and wind speeds exceeding 45 kmph may prevail along and off the Odisha coast. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the deep sea from Wednesday along and off the Odisha coast.
