Bhubaneswar: Eight individuals, including four children, tragically drowned in separate incidents across Odisha on Sunday.
In Bhubaneswar, two young men, Ashish Behera and Pranabandhu Mahalika, drowned in the Bhargabi river near Saiphan at Balakati. One was swept away by the current while bathing, and the other drowned attempting a rescue.
In Cuttack, 13-year-old Suryakant Majhi of Khannagar drowned in the Kathajodi river while bathing with friends in the afternoon. He was rescued after a 30-minute-long rescue operation but was declared dead at SCB Medical College and Hospital.
In Nayagarh district, three boys—Umakanta Nayak (11), Ritesh Pradhan (11), and Shubha Khilar (9)—drowned in a pond at Godibida under Dasapalla tehsil. The boys, attending a marriage function, went to bathe but were later found floating in the pond. They were taken to Daspalla Community Health Centre (CHC) but were declared dead there.
In Keonjhar district, two youths from Kendrapada, employed at Tata Steel’s Duburi plant, drowned in the Musala river near Garagaradabhala village under Harichandanpur block. One maong them slipped while climbing the hill to reach the caves near Patahara waterfall, pulling the other into the river. Fire Services recovered their bodies after a rescue operation.