Jajpur: In a tragic incident, two persons, including an engineer, drowned in a pond in the Sukinda area of Jajpur district today afternoon. The pond had been formed within a grove of hills near Koel village.

According to reports, three individuals—Manas Mahanta, an engineer; Shambhu Pradhan, and a minor named Butura—had gone to the pond to bathe. While Shambhu and Manas entered the water, Butura stayed back on the bank. When the duo did not return after a long time, Butura alerted their families and local villagers.

On being informed, a team from the Sukinda Fire Service rushed to the spot and managed to recover the body of Shambhu. However, the body of Manas was yet to be retrieved at the time of filing this report. A search and rescue operation, which began nearly six hours ago, was still underway.

Meanwhile, Sukinda Police have reached the site and initiated an investigation into the incident.