ROURKELA: In a tragic incident, two students of a reputed English medium school drowned while taking bath in Ghagarai nullah near Birkera in Lathikata block under Brahmani Tarang (BT) police limits of Sundargarh district on Friday.
Police identified the deceased as Omm Suna (16) and Anurag Das (16), both Class X students of Ispat English Medium School at Sector 20. Four of their friends accompanying them had a narrow escape.
Police sources said the mishap took place at around 12 noon. A group of six students of the school had gone to the scenic Ghagarai nullah on a pleasure trip. The teenagers readied themselves to take bath in the natural water stream. Suna and Das first entered the water to check its depth and drowned.
Panicked, the four other students raised a hue and cry following which locals rushed to the spot. On being informed, BT police and fire services reached the spot and launched an operation to trace the boys. After hours of search, the fire services personnel retrieved the bodies of Suna and Das at around 3 pm.
IIC of BT police station Gagan Bihari Nayak said bodies of the two students have been preserved at the morgue of Rourkela Government Hospital. An unnatural death case has been registered in this connection and further investigation is underway.
Sources said the students who escaped the tragedy are Abhijit Hobo, Sumit Seth, Abhishek Sahu and Pritam Hasda, all 16 years of age and students of Class X. They belong to different sectors of Rourkela Industrial Township.