Four undergraduate students of Ravenshaw University drowned in Mahanadi River at Jobra Barrage here today.
Cuttack District Magistrate and Collector Nirnmal Mishra said at least five students of the University had gone near the barrage for bathing and four of them went missing.
Quoting eye witnesses, police said all the five were swept away by strong current.
One student, identified as Amit Meher of Bolangir district, managed to swim back to the shore.
Cuttack DCP Sanjeev Arora said the search and rescue teams later fished out four bodies which have been sent for post mortem.
The deceased have been identified as Sahanawaz Khan, Debi Prasad Rath, Pyarimohan Pradhan and Pritiranjan Das.
All the five students were from self-financing courses of the University and they had their annual day function scheduled later in the evening inside their campus.
"It is a painful incident. The boys had gone to take bath during afternoon," said university vice-chancellor Prakash Chandra Sarangi, who rushed to river bank after getting the information.
