Bhubaneswar: Seven persons, including a bank official, drowned while taking bath after celebrating Holi in separate incidents in Odisha on Wednesday.

Sangram Ajitabh Das (40), Vice President of HDFC Bank, drowned in the Kharasrota River in the Byasanagar area of Jajpur district in the afternoon. He reportedly lost his footing while taking a bath and was swept into deeper waters. He was rushed to a hospital at Jajpur Road but was declared dead on arrival.

Das was a resident of Padmapur area under Jajpur Road police limits.

A youth, identified as Hiranya Kumar Behuria of Bari area, also drowned while bathing in the Brahmani river at Khari Padia after the festivities in the district.

Similarly, a minor boy, Jeevan Behera, drowned while bathing in Mahanadi in Baramba area of Cuttack district after celebrating the festival. The minor boy was swept away by the strong currents while bathing near a bridge in the afternoon. On being informed, the Fire Service personnel reached the spot and rescued the boy before rushing him to a nearby hospital. However, he was declared dead on arrival by the doctors.

In Sundargarh district, two young cousins — six-year-old Abhijit Toppo and seven-year-old Jisam Toppo — drowned in a pond near Litibeda village in the Kutra area. The children had gone out to play following Holi celebrations. When they failed to return home for an extended period, worried family members launched a search and eventually found their bodies in a nearby pond, just metres from the village. They were immediately rushed to Kutra Community Health Centre (CHC), where doctors pronounced them dead on arrival.

A similar incident was reported from Jhumpura area of Keonjhar district where a seven-year-old Anku Gop lost his life after drowning in a pond. The child, who was visiting his maternal uncle at Sijukala village, had been playing Holi with friends and went to bathe in the pond thereafter. Unable to swim, he struggled in the water. His companions quickly raised the alarm, prompting locals to rush in and pull him out. He was immediately rushed to Champua Sub-Divisional Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. Police carried out an investigation, and after a postmortem examination, the body was handed over to the grieving family.

In Jagatsinghpur district, Sanjay Mahapatra of Dihasahi in Biridi block also died after drowning in Biluakhai river.

Meanwhile, in Kendrapara district, a 22-year-old youth, identified as Shubha Sankalp Barik, went missing in the Kharasrota river at Tunga village under Aul police limits.