BALASORE/KENDRAPARA : Five teenagers drowned in separate incidents in Balasore and Kendrapara districts in the last 24 hours.
In Balasore, Soumyaranjan Giri (19) and his brother Amiyaranjan Giri (17), residents of Talatapanda village under Basta police limits, died after drowning in Subarnarekha river on Wednesday.
The siblings were visiting their uncle’s house at Manpur village in Baliapal for Dussehra celebrations. At around noon, the duo went to the nearby Subarnarekha river to take bath. While bathing, the teenagers reportedly slipped and were swept away by the river current. Some villagers present at the spot tried to rescue the siblings but their efforts went in vain.
On being informed, fire services personnel from Baliapal rushed to the spot and launched a search operation. After around an hour, bodies of the teenagers were retrieved from the river.
Baliapal police sent the bodies to Balasore district headquarters hospital (DHH) for postmortem. An unnatural death case has been registered in connection with the incident and further investigation is underway, said police.
Similarly, three youngsters from Gahaga village drowned in Luna river under Kendrapara Sadar police limits on Tuesday. The deceased were identified as Chiranjibi Parida (18), Sabyasachi Swain (18), and Ashis Satapathy (18), all students of the local college.
According to eyewitnesses, the tragic mishap took place around 8 am when a group of youths stepped into the river to take bath. Chiranjibi, Sabyasachi and Ashis reportedly lost their footing after stepping into a deep pit near the river’s entry point and were swept away by the strong water currents. Hearing their frantic cries for help, locals rushed to the river bank to rescue them. However, their efforts were thwarted by the swift water flow.
After an extensive search, fire services personnel and locals retrieved the bodies of the three teenagers from the river in the evening. Police sent the bodies to the Kendrapara DHH for postmortem. An investigation has been launched into the incident, said Kendrapara Sadar IIC Padmalaya Pradhan.