Kendujhar: Body of a young man, who went missing after slipping into deep water while bathing at Handibhanga Waterfall in Odisha’s Kendujhar district, was recovered on the third day of search operation.
Fire services personnel retrieved the remains from the reservoir at the base of the waterfall on Sunday. The deceased has been identified as Dibyaranjan Mahanta, a resident of the Sukinda Giringmali area in Jajpur district.
According to sources, Mahanta had visited the scenic spot in the Joda block along with two colleagues employed by a mining contracting firm based in Badakalimati. The outing took place on Friday, coinciding with the Gandhi Jayanti holiday. While the three were bathing, Mahanta lost his footing and was swept into the deep pool beneath the waterfall.
Bamebari police and local fire services personnel were promptly informed and a rescue effort launched that continued for more than four hours. As darkness fell and visibility deteriorated, the operation was suspended for the night. Search teams returned on Saturday and conducted a thorough scan of the deep pool and surrounding reservoir under difficult terrain and water conditions, but found no trace of the missing youth. Given the challenging circumstances, specialised personnel from the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) were also called in to assist.