Dhenkanal: Two cousin brothers died after being drowned in a village pond at Ekatali village in Dhenkanal district, on Thursday.
The deceased have been identified as Prashant Behera’s youngest son Subham Behera and Sushant Behera’s youngest son Ganeswar.
The victims, Subham (7) and Ganeswar (8) had gone to the pond to take a bath before visiting a temple on the occasion of Bada Osa. Due to carelessness, they slipped and fell into the water, succumbing to drowning. After failing to return home on time, family members launched a frantic search for the two boys, but to no avail, said sources.
Later, villagers found the bodies floating in the pond and rushed them to the hospital. However, they were pronounced dead.
On a tip-off, Kamakhyanagar police rushed to the scene, fished out the bodies and sent them for post-mortem.
The tragic incident has left the family and community in shock and grief.
