Nayagarh: Body of a 35-year-old man was recovered from Kuanria Dam in Daspalla block of Odisha’s Nayagarh district on Friday after a Nor’wester (Kalabaishakhi) storm struck a group of local fishermen, causing their boat to disappear on Thursday evening.
The deceased has been identified as Pradeep Pradhan, a resident of Odasar village near the dam. Another fisherman remains missing, with search operations continuing.
According to sources, a group of around 20 fishermen from the village had gone to the dam, as they routinely do, to catch fish when the weather suddenly turned dangerous. Pradhanb was out in the dam with his friend Abhay Khamari. While others safely reached the river bank, they could not find Pradeep and Abhay. “Their boat disappeared while we were returning to the bank. We looked for them all night but could not find them,” a fellow fisherman told a local news channel.
On being informed, police along with the Fire Services Team and ODRAF officials launched a search and rescue operation. The effort was temporarily halted overnight due to poor visibility but resumed early this morning. As news of the missing men spread, hundreds of villagers gathered at the riverbank, anxiously watching the ongoing operations.
After several hours of intensive searching, Pradeep’s body was recovered from the waters of the dam. Operations are underway to locate Abhay, who remains untraceable.
