Rourkela/Cuttack/Bhubaneswar: In a series of tragic incidents across Odisha today, five people, including a two-year-old child and a woman, lost their lives due to drowning.

In Sundargarh district, a woman identified as Anasi Behera from Chenpur village drowned while bathing near the Pradhanpali ghat in the Koel River. She reportedly lost control and was swept into deeper water. When she did not return home, her family began searching and later discovered her body floating in the river. The Cheend Police and Fire Service personnel were alerted and rushed to the spot. However, confusion over police jurisdiction caused a delay, with the Kuanramunda Police reaching the site late — a delay that sparked local outrage.

In a separate incident near the same ghat, an ITI student, identified as Swadheen Oram, drowned after accidentally falling from the Pradhanpali rail bridge into the Koel River while attempting to take a selfie.

Meanwhile, in Balasore district’s Kalamanga village, a two-year-old child drowned in a pond behind his house. The child had wandered into the backyard while playing and accidentally fell into the water.

In another incident in Cuttack, two engineers drowned while bathing in the Kathajodi River near Sector-11 in the CDA area. Per reports, four youths were bathing when one of them lost balance and drifted into deeper waters. Another youth attempted to rescue him but was also swept away by the strong current.

The Fire Service personnel launched a search and rescue operation following the incident. The deceased have been identified as Rutikesh Matal (25) and Rutik Bhanje (24), both engineers from Maharashtra employed with L&T.