SAMBALPUR: Bodies of two employees of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), Burla were recovered from Hirakud dam reservoir here on Monday.The deceased were identified as Mahesh Chitturi of Chhattisgarh who was posted as mining manager of MCL and Avishek Kumar of Uttar Pradesh, the excavation manager. The duo had gone missing while bathing in the reservoir on Sunday.
Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Burla S Dash said ODRAF team and fire personnel with the help of local fishermen recovered the bodies of Mahesh and Avishek. The bodies were sent for autopsy. Family members of the deceased have already reached Burla.
Sources said Mahesh and Avishek along with three other colleagues had gone to the right dyke area of the dam near Jhankrani temple in the afternoon. At around 5:30 pm, the duo and another colleague Abinesh Ray decided to take bath in the reservoir. However, all three of them were caught in the strong current and started drowning. On hearing their screams, a boat from the nearby boating club went to rescue them. While Abinesh was rescued, Mahesh and Avishek went missing.