Bhubaneswar: An ODRAF team from Jharsuguda on Sunday joined the search operation to locate a student from National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, who was swept away in the IB River at Kanhakund in Odisha’s Sundargarh district on Saturday.
The missing student has been identified as D
eepesh Pradhan, a native of Dunguri in Bargarh district. He is a PhD student at NIT-Rourkela.
According to sources, Deepesh had gone to the scenic natural canyon with four friends for a day trip. They entered the stone-bed stretch of the river to take a bath when Deepesh lost his grip on a rock and was pulled into deeper waters by the swift current.
His friends immediately raised an alarm and alerted the local authorities.
Soon, police personnel from the Sundargarh sub-division, fire service teams from Subdega and Balisankara, and forest department staff from Rauldega launched an extensive search operation. However, he could not be traced even after a 19-hour operation, which was again resumed this morning with help from the ODRAF team.
At least 6 people have died at this spot in the last four years, sources added.