Six boys drowned in the Kharasrota river in Odisha's Jajpur on Saturday while they were taking a bath after playing Holi.
Three bodies have been recovered so far and the search operation is underway to trace the other three who are still missing.
"The locals had recovered one of the bodies beore we arrived. We have traced two others, while three are still missing, said Purna Chandra Marandi, District Assistant Fire Officer.
As the search operation was halted yesterday night due to low light, the Fire department and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have started the rescue operation on Sunday morning again.
According to locals, the boys went to the river for taking a bath after playing Holi on Saturday.
"As they were taking a bath in the river after playing Holi, they noticed that one of them is drowning in the river. So my nephew tried to rescue his friend. One by one all of them drowned in a bid to rescue others. At last, my son went to rescue and he also drowned in the river," said Satya Chandra Jena, father of one of the boys.
Holi 2022: Priyanka Chopra And Nick Jonas Did Us All A Favour And Played "Like Desis" Holi 2022: Shilpa Shetty's Little Daughter Samisha And Son Viaan Played With Flowers Instead Of Colours Holi 2022: A Bollywood Playlist For Your Party 3 Students Dead After Flooding In Delhi Coaching Centre Basement At Olympics Opening Ceremony, Drag Parody Of 'The Last Supper' Draws Flak Teen Rapes, Kills Sister After Watching Porn, Family Helps In Cover-Up "Murder": BJP Blames Delhi Government For Death Of 3 Students After Flooding CAT 2024: Registration Begins On August 1, Exam On November 24 Astrologer Who Correctly Predicted Biden Exit, Now 'Names' Next US President Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.