PURI: Two tourists from Jharkhand drowned at Chakratirth beach in Puri on Saturday while bathing in the sea. They were swept into deep waters by strong waves.
The deceased were identified as Kusum Gupta (45) and her son Ankit Gupta (20), from Ranchi. Sources said the mother-son duo had come to Puri with their family and was staying at Hotel Pink House in the Chakratirth area.
On Saturday, they were bathing near the sea when a huge wave swept Kusum into the sea. Her son Ankit attempted to rescue her, but both were caught in the strong current. Other family members raised an alarm, following which the duo were rushed to the district headquarters hospital, where doctors declared them dead.
The Sea Beach police registered a case and handover the bodies to the family after postmortem. Locals said such incidents occur frequently, alleging a lack of official lifeguard deployment in the area. Lifeguard services are currently limited to the Niladri Beach to
Swargdwar stretch. They demanded that adequate lifeguards should be deployed to prevent such incidents.