Mathili: Two youths, who happened to be siblings, met their watery grave today while taking a bath in Gummajharan waterfall under Mathili police limits in Malkangiri district.

Identities of the two brothers have not been ascertained yet, a senior cop of the local police station said.

According to a source, the two youths had come to the waterfall along with other family members for picnicking earlier in the day. They belonged to Jeypore town of Koraput district. When other members of the family were busy in picnicking, the brother duo went to take a bath.

The youths were standing on a large boulder and were taking selfie. All of a sudden, they lost control of them and fell into the water. The youths were swept away leading to their untimely deaths.

“The elder brother drowned first and his younger brother tried to save his sibling. In the process, the younger brother also drowned,” an eyewitness expressed.

The youths were fished out from the water following a frantic search operation launched by some locals after striving for more than an hour. The duo was immediately sent to the sub-divisional hospital (SDH) in Mathili in critical condition for treatment, where doctors declared them ‘dead’.

A pall of gloom descended on the family after news of the deaths spread.