Three students die, another battling life after snakebite in Odisha's Keonjhar

In a tragic incident, three students died after a venomous snake bit them while they were sleeping inside a coaching centre in the Nischitapur area in Keonjhar district on Saturday night.

As per initial reports, two girls and a boy student are among the deceased. One student, who is also suspected to have been bitten by a snake, has been shifted to Cuttack in critical condition.

Sources said 60 students were staying at the private residential coaching centre.

 A guardian said, "I got a call from the coaching centre asking me to come to the hospital. When I reached the spot, I learnt that my daughter had died."

Damyanti, another guardian said, "My daughter Elina was studying in standard three. I had spoken with her last night. But I don't know what happened. When we reached the spot, she had died already."

Draupadi Nayak, "It was a private coaching centre. We got information about the incident at around 7:30 am. The authorities had not informed the family members. We have been told that a venomous snake has bitten the students, but we have no information from the authorities."