NIT Rourkela Student Swept Away in IB River, Search Continues

Bhubaneswar: A student of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, was swept away by a strong current while bathing in the IB River at Kanhakund in Sundargarh district on Saturday, prompting a massive search and rescue operation that continued for over 19 hours.

The missing student has been identified as Deepesh Pradhan, a resident of the Dunguri area in Bargarh district. He had visited the popular natural canyon at Kanhakund with four friends for an outing.

According to reports, the group entered the stone-bed stretch of the river to bathe when Deepesh allegedly lost his grip on a rock and was dragged into deeper waters by the swift current. His friends immediately raised an alarm and informed the local authorities.

Following the incident, a joint search operation was launched involving police personnel from the Sundargarh sub-division, fire service teams from Subdega and Balisankara, and forest department staff from Rauldega.

Despite extensive search efforts in the river and adjoining areas, rescue teams had not been able to trace the student till the filing of this report.