Two Students Go Missing After Drowning In Gummajharan Waterfall In Odisha's Malkangiri

Malkangiri: Two Plus Three Second Year students of Koraput district's Vikram Dev University went missing after drowning in Gummajharan waterfall in Madakapadar panchayat of Khairaput block of Malkangiri on Tuesday evening.

According to Mathili police station officer Dipanjali Majhi, a group of four students from Vikram Dev University, Jeypore had been to Gummajharan waterfall for a picnic. "After having lunch, the students took a bath at the waterfall. However, while clicking a selfie, three of them slipped and fell and were swept away in the strong current of water," he said.

Majhi said locals present at the spot managed to save one of the students but the other two-Lingaraj Mohapatra and S Shreekhar were not found. Majhi said a police team along with Mathili fire station personnel reached the spot and launched a search operation. The operation was called off after sunset and resumed on Wednesday morning.

"The search operation is still on to trace the missing students. A 16-member team of ODRAF from Koraput, a 10-member team of police, and fire department personnel are engaged in the operation," Majhi said.

The officer said locals are also assisting the personnel in the operation. While Lingaraj is a resident of Nuasahi in Jeypore, Shreekhar belongs to Narayanpatna.

Earlier this month, three students from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Silchar drowned while enjoying an outing at the remote Boulsol Waterfall near Harangajao in Dima Hasao district of Assam. The bodies of the deceased students—two from Uttar Pradesh and one from Bihar—were recovered and they were identified as Sarvakritika Singh, 20 and Souhard Roy from Uttar Pradesh, and Radhika,19, a resident of Bihar.

Lakshidhar Saikia, the officer in-charge of Harangajao police station confirmed the deaths. Saikia said that the deceased were part of a group of seven NIT Silchar students, who were on a trip to Harangajao in the Dima Hasao district on Saturday. Upon reaching Harangajao, the students went to Boulsol Waterfall, located three kilometers from Harangajao, and arrived there around two in the afternoon, when this accident occurred.

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