A tragic drowning incident occurred on Friday afternoon in the Kuakhai river near Indrapal on the outskirts of the capital. Two young men went missing after suddenly slipping into deep water while bathing.
Fire service personnel from Balianta rushed to the spot and recovered one body after nearly two hours of search operations. The deceased has been identified as Rudra Narayan Swain (21), son of Pramod Swain of Kumbhardih under Dhauli police station. He was taken to Capital Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.
The second youth, Dibyajyoti Swain (20) of the area under Laxmisagar police station, remains missing. Fire service teams continued the search late into the night using boats in the deep waters. An ODRAF team also reached the site to assist.
According to local residents, four young men had come to the riverside for a picnic. Three of them entered the water to bathe when they suddenly drifted into a deep current. Locals managed to rescue one of them, but the other two disappeared.
Balianta Fire Officer Gobinda Chandra Jena, IIC Rashmita Behera, Balakati police station in-charge Prasanna Jena, along with other police personnel and Balianta Tehsildar Lilanprasad Sahu, were present at the spot supervising the rescue efforts.
Search operations for the missing youth are continuing.
