Berhampur: Two minor schoolgirls died after drowning in a village pond at Patanda under Kushapada Panchayat in Digapahandi block of Odisha’s Ganjam district on Tuesday.
The deceased have been identified as Pranjali Dora (11), a Class VI student and the only daughter of S Dinabandhu Dora, and Manini Dora (12), a Class VII student and daughter of S Prakash Dora.
According to sources, the incident occurred at around 10 am when both girls went to bathe in the pond after returning from school. They accidentally slipped into deeper water and drowned. Locals bathing at another ghat of the pond spotted the girls in distress and attempted to rescue them but failed, following which the Digapahandi Fire Brigade was informed.
The fire personnel reached the spot, rescued the girls in an unconscious state, and rushed them to the Digapahandi Community Health Centre. However, the doctor declared both of them dead.
Police seized the bodies and sent them to MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur, for postmortem. After the autopsy, the bodies were handed over to the grieving families, who performed the last rites at the village cremation ground.
A case of unnatural death has been registered at Digapahandi police station, IIC Kishore Kumar Samal informed.
