Balasore: Two Plus II students went missing after reportedly drowning in the Blue Lake under Nilagiri police limits in Balasore district on Saturday, while another student accompanying them had a narrow escape. The missing students have been identified as Bhavishya Patra (16) of Takatpur village in Mayurbhanj district and Anshuman Patra (16) of Apartibindha village in Bhadrak district.Bhavishya is a Plus II commerce student at FM College and was staying in a mess in Balasore for his studies. Anshuman was also pursuing Plus II commerce at FM College and was staying with his parents in Balasore. Roshan Nayak (16), a resident of Haturikana village under Soso police limits in Keonjhar district, had a narrow escape. He is a Plus II science student at Remuna College and was staying in a rented house near Tarini Chhak, Balasore.According to reports, the three friends visited Blue Lake, an artificial water body formed in an abandoned stone quarry, near Mitrapur village on a motorcycle around 10 am as their college was closed for a holiday. The students reportedly climbed a neem tree near the Blue Lake ghat to take selfies.While Bhavishya and Anshuman were standing on the tree and taking selfies, they reportedly lost their balance and fell into the water. Roshan, who was nearby, immediately tried to rescue his two friends but was unable to save them. Soon after the incident came to light, a large number of locals gathered at the spot. IIC, Nilagiri police station Gobardhan Nayak reached the scene, while fire service personnel and ODRAF launched a search operation in the lake to trace the two missing students. The search operation was continuing till the filing of this report.
