A youth drowned while setting afloat a boat in the Samal Right Canal under Pallahara block in Angul district on Monday on the occasion of Kartik Purnima.
The deceased was identified as Ashish Sahu, a resident of Chasa Gurujang.
Ashish and other fellow villagers went to the Samal Right Canal for the symbolic boat sailing ritual of Kartik Purnima.
But Ashish’s legs slipped and he was swept away by strong water currents. After some time, his body was found afloat some distance away.
On being informed, police and Fire Service personnel rushed to the spot and recovered the body. The body was sent to a hospital for postmortem. A pall of gloom descended on the village following the incident.