A 21-year-old youth drowned while bathing in a check dam near Betagad village under Redhakhol block in Sambalpur district on Saturday afternoon.
The victim, identified as Purushottam Patra alias Deepak, son of Basanta Patra, had returned home to Betagad a day earlier after working in Bargarh district.
Witnesses said Deepak went to the nearby check dam to bathe, but slipped into deep water and drowned. Locals rushed to rescue him and immediately called an ambulance. He was taken to Redhakhol Sub-Divisional Hospital in critical condition, where doctors declared him dead.
Police reached the hospital and began an investigation into the incident. Officers said the drowning appeared accidental, though they will verify all circumstances surrounding the death.
