Five school students, including two girls, tragically drowned in two separate incidents across Odisha’s Koraput and Mayurbhanj districts on Saturday, police said.
In the first tragedy, three Class 10 students drowned in the backwaters of the Kolab reservoir near their school during the afternoon. The students had finished their board examinations and were waiting for their parents to arrive and take them home.
A police officer said they had gone to play in the water to celebrate the completion of their exams and drowned.
Though local residents rescued the students and rushed them to Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital in Koraput, they were declared dead by the doctors.
“The students were hostel boarders, and the incident is suspected to have taken place between 3 pm and 3.30 pm. Further investigation is underway,” stated Koraput Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Sanjay Mandal.
The deceased have been identified as Lingaraj Khil (16), Swastik (15) and Om Prakash (16). All were class 10 students of the school, police said.
While school authorities were not immediately available for comment, the families of the victims have alleged negligence on the part of the institution and are demanding a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident.
The opposition BJD and Odisha Congress expressed deep grief over the loss of the three students from the Koraput-based Navodaya School.
Taking to X, BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said, “The news of three students from Koraput Navodaya Vidyalaya losing their lives by drowning in a reservoir is heartbreaking. I pray for the eternal peace of the departed souls. I extend my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and loved ones as they face this tragic time.”
In a social media post, OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das said, “Deeply saddened by the tragic demise of three Navodaya Vidyalaya students who drowned in the Kolab reservoir in Koraput. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. May Mahaprabhu grant them strength to bear this irreparable loss.”
In another incident in Mayurbhanj district, two Class 2 girls drowned while bathing in a pond near their village, Nachhipur, within the Kaptipada police station limits.
The victims, identified as seven-year-old Subhasandhya Nayak and eight-year-old Rajalaxmi Sankhual, were close friends and classmates.
Family members said that the two girls had gone to the pond to bathe immediately after returning from school.
Upon realising the girls were in danger, their family members rushed to the pond, pulled them out, and moved them to Kaptipada hospital. However, doctors declared them dead on arrival, according to Madhumita Mohanty, Inspector-in-Charge of the Kaptipada police station.
