Kendujhar: Two people, including a 1-year-old girl, drowned in separate incidents in Telkoi police station area of Keonjhar district on Tuesday.
The deceased have been identified as Akhari Dehuri, 58, wife of Rangadhar Dehuri of Kantalei Dandiasahi under Khuntapada panchayat, and Elena Munda daughter of Shitul Munda of Kaliahata Ghasidih in Telkoi area.
According to police, despite heavy rain on Monday, Akhari had gone with her husband to graze cattle as usual. While returning home in the evening, she reportedly slipped and fell into rainwater flowing through farmland in the village.
Her body was recovered by police on Tuesday morning and sent to Keonjhar District Headquarters Hospital for post-mortem.
In the second incident, Elena was swept away in a strong current while crossing a canal near her house in Kaliahata this afternoon. After a three-hour search operation, her body was recovered from downstream, about a kilometer away from the spot where she was swept away. The twin incidents have cast a pall of gloom in the locality.
