Siblings drown in water-filled pit on Baitarani river in Odisha

JAJPUR:  A minor brother-sister duo drowned in a water-filled pit on Baitarani river bed near Jaintira under Dasarathapur block here on Thursday. The siblings, identified as Barsharani Das (11) and her brother Batua Dash (6), belonged to Sohada village in Bhadrak.

The duo was on way to their aunt’s place in Jaintira village on foot when they accidentally fell into the pit dug for erecting a pillar of a bridge over Baitarani under Biju Setu Yojana. 

When the siblings didn’t reach their aunt’s place, a frantic search was launched. Later, their bodies were found floating in the pit. They were rushed to the nearby hospital but declared brought dead. Following the incident, irate villagers staged demonstration near the bridge site demanding compensation for the deceased’s kin. Police reached the spot and brought the situation under control.