Cuttack, Oct. 2: Two persons drowned in the Mahanadi river near Gadagadia ghat here today.

This is the second drowning incident in a little over two months after three students of the National Institute of Fashion Technology died at the same spot on August 30.

The deceased have been identified as B. Ventakeswar Rao, 23, and Jaga Rao, 32, of Patapole.

The incident occurred at 1pm when both of them had gone to the river to take a bath as part of Solapuri Amma festival ritual.

"It is the third phase of the festival when the people of the Telugu community visit Mahanadi to complete the rituals in a procession," said S. Dilip Rao, a resident.

Rao said the mishap occurred after there was sudden surge in the water level in the Mahanadi near Gadgadia ghat.

However, whether both of them got drowned due to quick sand it is unclear. "We are completely shocked as two of our members of our community have died in such an unfortunate manner during festivities," said Appa Rao, a member of the Telugu community.

Two teams of the fire services and one unit of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force were pressed into service to fish out the bodies after local residents informed local police station and fire services.

"The water level in the river was high and despite a rescue operation launched for over two hours, only one body has been found so far," said fire officer in charge Laxmidhar Pradhan.

"The district administration has put warning signage near the ghats, so people should be extra cautious," said Umesh Sahoo, a resident.