Two youths drowned while bathing in the Brahmani river near Shankarakul village in Bari block of Jajpur district on Sunday.
The deceased were identified as Sunil Mishra, 23, and Jitendra Panda, 19, of Balia village. Upon hearing the news, locals had begun a search operation in the river.
Jitendra’s body was first recovered by the villagers hours after he had gone missing. Later, Fire Services personnel arrived at the scene and fished out Sunil’s body. The untimely demise of the two young men cast a pall of gloom over the area.