Two Plus II students drown in Mahanadi after puja

CUTTACK: Two Plus II students drowned in the Mahanadi at Salepur block in the district on Saturday.
Abhisek Bastia (16) and Soumya Ranjan Sahoo (17) died during Shani puja celebrations, police said. Bastia's family had visited the Shani temple in Ramachandrapur village in Salepur for offering prayers.
"After the puja, Abhisek, Soumya and one more boy went to the nearby Mahanadi to take bath.The two boys failed to gauge the depth and ventured deep into the river and drowned. On hearing their screams, locals rushed to the spot and rescued the third boy," said Pranita Patnaik, the inspector-in-charge of Kissannagar police station.
Police and fire fighting officials launched rescue operations and fished out the bodies of the two boys around 3 pm.
Abhisek was a resident of Nuabazaar while Soumya stayed at Kalyani Nagar.
"The bodies have been handed over to the families," the inspector-in-charge added.