Balasore: In a heartbreaking incident, two minor girls (cousins) drowned in an artificial fish-farming pond near their house in Badas village under Baliapal police limits on Thursday afternoon.
The tragedy has cast a pall of grief over the village and the Baliapal Community Health Centre, where the children were declared dead.
According to reports, a grand ‘Biswa Shanti Maha Yajna’ was underway in Badas village. The family of Nakia Biswal from nearby Dagara had come to visit relatives at the residence of his brother-in-law, Deepak Raut. Around 3 PM, while the family members were inside the house, Deepak Raut’s five-year-old daughter, Baishnabi Raut, and Nakia Biswal’s three-year-old daughter, Rashmita Biswal, were playing outside.
Unnoticed, the two little girls reportedly wandered near an artificial pond constructed for fish farming and accidentally fell into it. When the children could not be found for a long time, the family launched a search and eventually discovered both girls in the pond.
The minors were rushed to the Baliapal Community Health Centre, where doctors declared them dead on arrival. The tragic news triggered scenes of anguish and mourning at the hospital.
Baliapal police have seized the bodies and initiated an investigation into the incident.
