Berhampur, Dec. 30: Three students of Sunshine Mission School, Bhadrak, who had gone on a picnic organised by the school authorities, drowned in Rushikulya river in Ganjam district, 26km from here, this morning.
All the three students - Sai Saswat Behera, Soumya Sampad Maharana and Pankaj Sahu - were students of Class VIII.
The three were part of a group of 40 students who had come here from Bhadrak with their teachers and guardians last night. They had come to Taratarini temple for a picnic, the police said. The mother of one of the deceased students, Pankaj, had also come with the picnic party, the police said.
"The mishap occurred when the students were taking a bath in the river. They misjudged the depth and went too deep into the water. Firemen and policemen recovered the bodies. The bodies were taken to Purushottampur hospital for post-mortem," inspector in charge of Purushottampur police station Bijaya Kumar Sahu said.
"We have informed the relatives of the students about the incident. We will hand over the bodies after the post-mortem," he said.
The place where the students drowned is about 200 metres away from the Lion Gate of the temple, said Bhaskar Behera, a local resident.
"The place where these students drowned is very dangerous. At least one accident occurs almost every year. The place is situated on the foot of the Taratarini hills and many picnickers visit the place during this time of the year. The district administration should barricade the area on the Rushikulya bank and build stairs on the bathing ghat for the tourists," said Behera.