Jaleswar/Anandapur: Even as people were busy setting afloat boats as part of Kartika Purnima celebrations, two boys were feared drown in river Subarnarekha at Kotasahi panchayat under Jaleswar block in Balasore district.
Pankaj Nath (12) and Suman Singh (11) of Gobardhanpur were collecting coins and other material from the river during the boat-floating exercise.
Villagers and firefighters launched a search operation in the river, but could not trace them out by the time the last report came in.
A report from Anandapur said a minor boy drowned in a river. Subham Rout, son of Chittaranjan Rout of Nuagarh village under Ghasipura police limits along with his family members had gone to Kushei river to take a holy dip and sail miniature boats when he accidentally slipped into deep waters and drowned. After a long hour of search, locals and fire service personnel traced him and took him to Anandpur sub-divisional hospital where doctors declared him ‘brought dead’.
PNN