Puri: A 45-year-old woman drowned in the Kushabhadra River in Odisha’s Puri district on Wednesday while attempting to rescue her son, who had reportedly fallen into the water during religious purification rituals following her brother’s death.
The deceased has been identified as Swagatika Prushti, a resident of Bania Sahi village under the jurisdiction of Gop police station.
According to reports, Swagatika had gone to the river with her family members to take a ritual bath as part of the purification ceremonies following her brother’s death.
During the ritual, she noticed her son drowning in the river and immediately jumped into the water to rescue him. However, she too got submerged and went missing.
Following the incident, a team from Gop Fire Services rushed to the spot and launched a search and rescue operation.
The woman was eventually rescued and taken to the Gop Community Health Centre (CHC), where the attending doctor declared her dead.
The incident has cast a pall of gloom over the village.
