Nabarangpur: In a tragic mishap, a young sibling duo including an infant died after a snakebite in Umerkote area of Odisha's Nabarangpur district on Monday. 

The deceased were identified as 11 year-old Amita Harijan and her nine month-old brother Rituraj of Rajpur village in Umerkote. 

Parents claimed that the children were sleeping when a venomous snake bit them. Howevever, when their health deteriorated, they took them to a sorcerer instead of a hospital hoping the siblings would revive with the help of black magic. 

When their condition got worse after returning home, they had no option but to call an 108 ambulance. 

The children were rushed to the Umerkote subdivisional hospital at around 4 am but doctors decalred them brought dead. 

A pall of gloom descended on the village after news of the tragic deaths spread. District hospital authorities said snakebite cases are endemic to the region but despite awareness measures, people remain rooted to blind beliefs and supersitions.

A lot more public outreach efforts have to be made to help them break free from age-old myths. Once they are educated enough to put medical science over practices like witchcraft, a lot many lives will be saved. The children could have been saved had they been immediately rushed to the hospital, they added.