RAYAGADA: In a tragic incident, two women hailing from Andhra Pradesh drowned as they fell off a hanging bridge over Nagavali river in Odisha’s Rayagada district while reportedly taking selfie. The deceased were identified as E. Jyoti (27) of Visakhapatnam and S. Sridevi (23) of Vizianagaram. On being informed, fire personnel reached the spot and recovered the bodies around 200 metres away from the spot.
According to reports, a group of nine tourists from Andhra Pradesh visited Majhighariani temple in Rayagada temple in the morning on outskirts of Rayagada town. Then, they went to the nearby Nagavali river for clicking photographs. According to eyewitnesses, at around 9.30 am, the tourists – who are reportedly working in jewellery shops in Visakhapatnam–went to Nagavali after visiting Majhigharian temple. Ms Jyoti lost her balance while standing on a cliff in the riverbed and fell into swirling water. In a bid to save her, S. Sridevi jumped into the water and tried to pull her out. However, she failed in her attempt and both of them were carried away in the strong current.
Fire brigade personnel fished out the body after two hours of search in the river. “Relatives of the deceased have been informed about the mishap and have been asked to come to Rayagada to claim the bodies,’ Rabindra Patra, inspector of Rayagada police station, said. He added that it was being investigated if the two women died while taking selife or accidentally fell into the river.
