Cuttack: In a tragic incident, a 22-year-old student drowned in river Mahanadi, while he was trying to save one of his friends from drowning at Naraj under Barang block in Cuttack district today evening.
The deceased has been identified as Bidesh Patnaik, a native of Rourkela he was studying in a private college at CDA Sector-I in Cuttack city.
According to reports, Bidesh with three of his friends had gone to Naraj for sightseeing. One of his friends accidentally slipped over the stone embankment near Naraj Guest House into the river.
On seeing his friend drown, Bidesh jumped into the river to save his friend. While his friend managed to swim ashore, Bidesh went missing.
After frantically searching for Bidesh in vain, his three friends informed the ODRAF unit stationed at Naraj about the accident.
Finally, ODRAF personnel fished out Bidesh’s body from the river.
Local police have launched an investigation into the matter.
