2 students drown in river in Odisha's Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, Jan 6 (PTI) Two students of a private coaching institute drowned while bathing in the Kuakhai river on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

The deceased were identified as Pankaj Kumar Saha and Prateek Pallaru, both aged around 18 and natives of states outside Odisha. They were in the city to prepare for the JEE Main examination, a police officer said.

According to police, the coaching institute had organised a New Year picnic on the banks of the river in Jaripatna area on Tuesday. During the outing, the two students reportedly entered the river for a bath and drowned, the officer said.

Fire services personnel later retrieved the two from the river and rushed them to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared them dead, police said. PTI BBM RBT