Nilagiri: Two college students are feared drowned after they fell into the deep waters of Blue Lake in Balasore district while allegedly taking a selfie on Saturday, police said. A third student, who attempted to rescue them, narrowly escaped.
The incident took place at around 10 am when the three friends, all students of colleges in and around Balasore, visited Blue Lake at Machhua village under Nilagiri police station on a motorcycle as their college was closed for the day.
The missing students have been identified as Bhabishya Patra (16), son of Ajit Patra of Taktapur village under Mayurbhanj district’s Town police station area, and Anshuman Patra, a resident of Apratibindha village under Town police station in Bhadrak district. Both were pursuing Plus II Commerce at FM College.
The third student, Roshan Nayak (16), son of Arjun Nayak of Haturi Kana village under Soso police station in Keonjhar district, is a Plus II Science student of Remuna College.
According to preliminary information, Bhabishya and Anshuman climbed a neem tree near the Blue Lake ghat and were reportedly taking a selfie when they fell into the deep water and drowned. Roshan, who was nearby, tried to rescue his friends but could not save them.
Soon after the incident came to light, locals gathered at the spot and informed the authorities. Nilagiri IIC Gobardhan Nayak reached the spot, while fire service personnel launched a search operation in the lake to trace the missing students.
Roshan was brought to Nilagiri police station for questioning as the search operation continued. Police and fire service personnel remained at the spot and efforts were underway to locate the two missing students till the filing of this report.
