Kendrapara: In a tragic mishap, a man died while his 17 year-old son went missing after lightning reportedly struck their fishing boat in Odisha's Kendrapara district on Sunday. 

The deceased was identified as Bijay Parida (45), a resident of Tantiapala village which comes under Nanjura panchayat in Mahakalapada block of the district. 

As per reports, Bijay and his son Manas had ventured into the Bay of Bengal for fishing in their motorboat from Tantiapala jetty on Saturday afternoon at around 2pm. Sources said the father-son duo was looking for a catch in the sea stretch around Gahirmatha. They were returning to the shore in the evening when heavy rains and thunderstorm lashed the area. When they did not return, family members launched a frantic search but to no avail. 

A day later, fellow fishermen spotted an unmanned boat between Barunei Muhana and Agarnasi island off the coast. On coming closer, they found Bijay's body in it. His son Manas was nowhere to be seen. While the exact cause of death is not ascertained yet, it is likely that Bijay died in lightning strike. Manas is suspected to have been swept away and drowned.

On getting information, forest personnel and local police launched a joint rescue operation. Bijay's body and boat were recovered from the sea. The search for the missing boy was still ongoing till reports last came in.  

Official sources said a case of un-natural death has been registered and Bijay's body taken for postmortem to the district headquarters hospital.