Chandbali: A fisherman went missing today afternoon after he fell off a boat which he was travelling into the sea for fishing near a harbour in Dhamra locality of Bhadrak.

The fisherman was identified as 24-year-old Bijaya Nayak, who hails from Kuamara village of Karanapalli panchayat in the district.

According to the Inspector-in-charge (IIC) of the Marine police station, a boat named ‘Jagyanseni’ had earlier anchored at the fishing harbour. At around 2.00 pm, a fisherman became unbalanced and slipped into the sea. As there is surging rainwater, the fisherman was swept away and went missing.

The owner of the boat has been identified as Sapan Kumar Sit.

A frantic search was launched by a team of Marine police following the incident but to no avail. The missing man was not traced out till the time when this report was filed.

The search operation may not continue after the fall of night, the senior official said.