A construction boat stranded under a bridge in the Surya riverbed in Palghar district was freed after nearly 16 hours in a complicated operation timed with the flow of the water amid a potential risk of the boat colliding with a downstream embankment.

The boat, owned by a contractor for construction work in the riverbed, got stuck beneath the Maswan bridge around 6 pm on Monday after it developed a snag amidst heavy rain and rising river water levels, the district administration stated in a release.

“There were concerns that if the river’s flow is diminished, the boat might shift downstream and potentially damage an embankment. As a precautionary measure, the boat was stabilised and kept under control overnight despite persistent rain that had initially hampered rescue efforts,” the release stated. The operation to extricate the vessel resumed as soon as the rain intensity lessened on Tuesday.