Two college students drowned while bathing in a water-filled, abandoned stone quarry in Odisha’s Balasore district, police reported on Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as Anshuman Patra (17) and Bhabesh Patra (16), both studying Plus Two Commerce at FM College in Balasore, officials stated.
A group of three friends had visited the water-filled abandoned stone quarry, locally known as Blue Lake, located in the Mitrapur area under the Nilgiri police station limits on Saturday.
While two of the students drowned while bathing, the third survived and managed to reach the shore. He raised an alarm to inform locals, leading local authorities, along with the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire services personnel, to reach the site and launch a rescue operation, according to a police officer.
Following an extensive search effort, emergency responders recovered the bodies of the two missing teenagers on Sunday. The bodies have been sent for post -mortem examination, the officer added.
