Cortalim ferry stranded for 3 hours with 80 passengers

Panaji: Nearly 80 passengers aboard the Madkai-Cortalim ferry faced an unexpected ordeal on Saturday evening when strong winds and heavy rainfall caused the vessel to drift off its intended course, leaving them stranded for three hours.
The ferry departed from Cortalim at 6:05pm, but by 6:15pm, it drifted approximately 10m away from its normal route due to the adverse weather conditions.The situation worsened when the vessel became grounded on a shallow patch in the river, rendering it immobile. The ferry also carried 35 two-wheelers of several commuters.
“Since it was low tide, the vessel couldn’t move. The crew waited for three hours until high tide to manoeuvre the vessel,” Vikram Rajebhosale, Director of the River Navigation Department, said.
“The vessel was successfully freed and resumed its journey at approximately 9:15 pm,” he added.
The IMD extended the yellow alert for Oct 9 and 10, advising the public to be prepared for further adverse weather.