PONDA: Chaos prevailed at Marcaim when a crowd gathered after hearing that a car with some passengers had submerged in river while alighting from a ferryboat at the Marcaim ferry ramp. Luckily no one was injured as the locals rushed in and rescued the car driver before the car sank in the river.
The locals also halted the ferry service fearing that more passengers might be trapped in the car. The driver of a Nano car, who was trying to enter the ferry in reverse, lost control over the vehicle and hit the ferryboat and started sinking in the river.
To his good luck, a fisherman Jayesh Sukanand Fadte, who was nearby, rushed to the spot and rescued the driver Subash Gawde (30) from Mangueshi.
According to the locals the incident took place at 4.30 pm and the ferry service on the Cortalim-Marcaim route was halted till late night.
Namdev Naik, another Marcaim local, said the ferry left Cortalim around 4pm and reached Marcaim at 4.30 pm.
After some passengers alighted two cars came out of the ferry. However, the driver of the Nano Car lost control while maneuvering the vehicle in reverse, hit the ferry and went into the river.
One Pedro Aguiar, an ace swimmer, retrieved the car from the river bed with the help of other locals.
It may be recalled that some decades ago a canoe had overturned and 20 people had lost their lives in the river.
