Dhenkanal: Five students, who had gone missing in Saptasajya Hill, have been rescued safely after a night search operation by forest officials in the wee hours of Monday.
Among the five, four of the missing students hail from Dhenkanal while one belongs to Cuttack.
Forest officials took the help of the local residents to trace the missing students.
According to sources, a group of seven students had gone on a trekking to Saptasajya on Sunday. Out of them, five students ventured further up above Bishnu Baba Ashram, located on the hilltop. They got stranded in the forest due to heavy rain and were unable to find their way back to the Ashram. Somehow, they managed to contact their families and close ones.
Upon being informed by their families, police rushed to the spot and rescued them with the help of local residents after seven hours of hardship.
They have been identified as Arakhita Mahapatra, Subham Mahapatra, Himanshu Das, Sujit Sahu, and Lucky Das from the Rajendra Nagar area near Cuttack district, all aged between 18 and 20 years.
