12-yr-old boy drowns to death at Bhattarika shrine

A twelve-year-old boy met with a watery grave while taking a bath in the Mahanadi river at Bhattarika shrine.

The deceased has been identified as class 9 student, Alexander Jagannath Prasad Nayak, a resident of Sasanga village under Baramba block in Cuttack.

As per reports, Alexander went to the Bhattarika shrine to take a bath in the nearby Mahanadi after completion of his tuition. As he went inside the river, the current pulled him deep and he drowned.

“He had come to take a bath at around 9 am and drowned in the river. We called the Fire department and they came soon enough, but they did not have the requisite equipment with to rescue the boy from deep waters. They called Balijhari and Banki fire offices for help. They rescued the boy but, it was too late,” said a local, Fakir Charan Rout.

Speaking about the incident, in-charge of Badamba Fire Services, Nabaghana Mallik said, “We reached the spot within 10 minutes of getting the call. But the boy seemed to have drowned in the deeper part of the river. So, we called the nearest Balijhari Fire Office and Banki. They reached with special scuba diving equipment and we recovered the body within minutes.”