Kuakhai River tragedy: 2 more bodies recovered, toll mounts to 4

Photo: OTV

Firefighters engaged in rescue operation with the help of locals

The death toll in the Kuakhai River tragedy rose to four as the bodies of two more youths were retrieved from the river on Wednesday morning. Bodies of two other youths were fished out from the river yesterday.

Firefighters worked throughout the night to trace the missing bodies and recovered them today morning. The deceased youths have been identified as Aryan of Jamshedpur, Abhinash from Cuttack, Rohit from Balasore and Prateik from Cuttack.

As per reports, the four of them drowned while taking bath in the Kuakhai River on Tuesday evening. The mishap occurred near Dhabalahara under Balianta Police limits on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.

According to sources, at least 8 friends from a private management college in the capital city had gone to take a bath in Dhabalahara. Unfortunately, four of them were pulled into the deep water and had gone missing.

Hearing the screams for help, locals rushed to the spot and fished out two bodies from the river. The firefighters were called in and they began a rescue operation.

“Locals had managed to pull out three youths from the river. However, two of them passed away while one of them is doing well,” a local said.

The IIC of Balianta Police Station, Jubaraj Swain said, “They were studying in a private college near Bhubaneswar. They had come here around 2 pm to take a bath. We received information about the mishap at around 5 pm. The police team and firefighters’ team managed to retrieve the bodies of the missing students with the help of locals.”

The incident has spread a pall of gloom in the area. On being informed, family members of the deceased students arrived at the spot.

“We got to know about the incident from their friends at around 6:30 pm in the evening. So, we rushed to the spot. I don’t understand how the students reached here. This clearly shows the hostel does not follow any rules and regulations,” said a deceased student’s brother.