Odisha elephant rescue effort turns tragic, journalist dies

Rescue operation to save an elephant stuck near a bridge on Mahanadi River turns tragic as rescue boat of Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force team capsizes, killing one and injuring several. A team member of ODRAF team also went missing in the tragic incident

Cuttack (Odisha): A media person lost his life while covering the rescue operation of an elephant got stuck in the high currents of Mahanadi River on Friday.

Arindam Das, senior correspondent of a media outlet in Odisha, died after the tusker attacked the Orissa disaster rapid Action Force (ODRAF) rescue boat. A team member of ODRAF went missing in the tragedy while others are admitted in serious condition. Reportedly, Das and a cameraman had joined the ODRAF team during the rescue operation.

Earlier in the day, seven elephants got swept away in high currents of Mahanadi river. While one of the elephants got stuck near Mundali bridge on the Mahanadi River, the remaining six elephants reached Nuasasan in Athagarh block of Cuttack district safely.

Local people who watched the elephants being swept away in the river reported the incident to the forest officials, and they launched the rescue operation immediately.