Jagatsinghpur: A pall of gloom descended on Oranal village under Krishnachandrapur panchayat in Jagatsinghpur district after four youths drowned during Ganesh idol immersion on Wednesday afternoon.

According to reports, villagers from Oranal had gone to the Brudhanadi river near Gopalpur for the immersion of a Ganesh idol. The incident occurred during the immersion, when four youths went missing after being swept away by the river.

A rescue operation was immediately launched and the bodies of the four youths were recovered from the river. The deceased have been identified as Sushil Palei, Manjit Swain, Rashmiranjan Nayak and Swapnajit Barik.

Latest report suggests the bodies have been kept at the Erasama medical facility for post-mortem examination.

Questions have been raised over safety arrangements during idol immersion following the tragic incident. Erasama police reached the spot and initiated a probe into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.