The Puri district administration on Tuesday launched a probe into the capsize of a speedboat that occurred on Saturday.

Former Bengal cricketer Snehasish Ganguly, elder brother of Sourav Ganguly, and his wife Arpita, were onboard when it overturned in the sea off the Puri coast.

The Puri administration removed the hoardings of the speedboat agency and also razed their ticket counters, which were situated on the beach.

The probe will focus on how the operator waived off any concerns about bad weather conditions and if the accident occurred because of the turbulent sea and not any lapses on the part of the operator.

Arpita had told reporters on Sunday: “When I asked them (the boat operator) whether it was advisable to take a speedboat ride as the sea was rough, they assured us that nothing would happen.”

The probe will also focus on the speedboat, which was built to carry 10 people but was carrying only five on the day of the incident. “Load factor plays a key role in a boat, particularly in a speedboat. Had the boat carried 10 people, there would have been perfect balance, and it could have withstood the turbulent sea and not overturned after being hit by huge waves. But operators insist on smallerparties reserving the entire boat to save fuel. These factors will be probed,” official sources said.

Arpita claimed that the boat operators had insisted on their party of 4 to book the entire boat “to make more money”. Arpita and the others were saved because of the timely intervention by lifeguards. The accident occurred off the beach in front of the Sonar Bangla Hotel, close to the lighthouse area. The sea along this stretch is always rough, and tourists are advised not to take boatrides here.

While Puri collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said that action will be taken based on the sub-collector’s report, Puri police have asked the tourism department to inform if whether the operator had a license or not and if they were given the required permission to organise sports activities in that specific area of the sea. “The sub-collector has been asked to submit the report. Once we get the report, appropriate and legal action will be taken,” said the collector.