Nuapada: Two young men died and another two sustained injuries when their motorcycle veered off the road and plunged into a waterbody near Dangaghat in Odisha’s Nuapada district early Thursday morning.
The deceased have been identified as Shobharam Hans from Babeghati village and Harichandra Patel from Hatisara village. The injured, Ranjit Hans and Bhagabat Majhi, have been admitted to Nuapada district headquarters hospital and their condition is stated to be stable.
According to sources, the four friends aged between 18-20 years were riding back home on a single motorcycle at around 4 pm after attending a Dhanu Jatra festival in nearby Tarabod village, where a Star Night cultural programme was organised. The accident occurred near Hatisara–Tarabod bridge as they were en route to drop off Harichandra at his village. The rider lost control of the motorcycle, collided with a pillar, and plummeted about 15 feet off the bridge into the water below.
While Ranjit and Bhagabat were able to swim to safety, Shobharam Hans and Harichandra Patel tragically drowned.
On being informed, Komana police with help of fire services personnel retrieved the bodies of the deceased from the waterbody and sent them for postmortem examination, while the injured were rushed to the local health facility.
A case has been registered following complaints from the families of the victims and further investigation is underway, said Komana Police IIC Rashmita Pradhan.
