South 24 Parganas (WB): Two passenger ferries carrying about 500 to 600 pilgrims from Gangasagar were rescued after a six-hour-long operation after they got stranded in the Bay of Bengal due to heavy fog and low tide. The state administration had sent relief items for the pilgrims, along with two Hovercrafts of the Indian Coast Guard.
The pilgrims were on their way to Gangasagar, the confluence of the Hooghly River and the Bay of Bengal when their ferries got stuck in the ocean near Kakdwip due to a low tide and dense fog. Launch and vessel services remained closed till Monday morning post the mishap to avoid any kind of untoward incident.
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With the pilgrims stuck in the buffer zone since Sunday night, the rescue operation began early on Monday when two vessels were headed for Kakdwip with 500 pilgrims from Kachuberia ferry wharf. However, due to the thick fog in the river Muriganga, the vessel lost its way and landed on the river coast. The Indian Coast Guard was sent next for the rescue, which reached the spot to rescue them.
Lakhs of people from across the country gather at Sagar Island in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas every year on Makar Sakranti to take a dip in Gangasagar.
