2 minor boys drown in Mahanadi River on Maha Ashtami, bodies recovered

A day after two minor boys went missing in Mahanadi river, their bodies were recovered from Samaleswari Ghat in Sambalpur on Saturday. The boys had gone to swim in the river during which they drowned, reports said.

According to sources, the two friends had gone to take a bath in the river on the occasion of Maha Ashtami on Friday. However, they did not return home. Worried family members started searching for them.

On being informed, a team of Odisha fire services personnel along with ODRAF launched a search operation in the river. The search operation continued till late on Friday night. However, there was no trace of the missing boys.

The rescue team re-launched the rescue operation on Saturday morning. After hours of search, their bodies were fished out from Samaleswari Ghat.

A case of unnatural death has been registered in this connection and the bodies have been sent for autopsy.