HK Desk 4th February 2025 In Koraput district’s Nandapur block, under Bilaput Panchayat, two students went missing while taking a selfie on a boat in the Jolaput reservoir. The boat capsized, leading to the disappearance of two ninth-grade students.
The missing students are Amit Hantal, son of Siba Hantal and Surendra Hantal, and another student, Gautam Khemundu, son of Murali Khemundu. Since Gautam knew how to swim, he managed to escape from the water.
Siba, Amit, and Gautam, all ninth-grade students of Jolaput High School, went to the riverbank on Saturday after school on a motorcycle. They bathed and then took a boat from the riverbank into the reservoir to take selfies. During this time, the boat overturned. Since Gautam knew how to swim, he was able to reach the shore safely.
A Selfie Turned Tragic, Boat Capsized
Siba and Amit are still missing in the reservoir’s waters. Their motorcycle, shoes, and clothes were found on the riverbank. Since it was nighttime, a search operation with the help of the fire services and ODRAF teams was planned for Sunday morning, according to Koraput District Collector V. Keerthi Vasan.
Nandapur Tehsildar Prabhati Jhodiya, BDO Durgaprasad Dora, SDPO Sambit Kumar Majhi, and officials from the Nandapur Fire Services visited the incident site. Machkund police have been instructed to keep a close watch on the situation.