Two engineering students drown in Odisha waterfall

Two engineering students have drowned in the plunge pool of a waterfall in Odisha's Sambalpur district, police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred when the duo, part of a group of 45 students from the Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) Burla, visited popular tourist destination Debjharan for picnicking on Saturday, a police officer said.

The deceased, Abhijit Samal of Hirakud in Sambalpur district and Soumya Ranjan Behuria of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, were taking bath in the waterfall when they slipped and fell into the plunge pool, he said.

Both the third year Computer Science students were rescued by visitors and taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared them dead, the officer said.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem and their parents informed, he said.

Prof P C Swain, in charge of public relations department of the VSSUT, said Saturday was a working day and the students had gone for a picnic without informing the authorities.