Nongpoh: Two youths from Assam drowned in Umtru river, Ri Bhoi while three others escaped miraculously from the strong currents of the water released from Umtru reservoir at Byrnihat on Wednesday evening.
According to sources, a group of five friends from Assam had gone to Umtru river near the newly commissioned Umtru Hydro Electric Project at Byrnihat for a picnic on Independence Day.
It was at 6:15 pm that they were trapped in the water released from the reservoir.
The police recovered the body of 29-year-old Biswajit Roy from Guwahati while the search operation is still on for Paritosh Pal who is still missing.
The police said that the concerned authority of Umtru Hydro Electric Project had warned and a siren alarm was also on to alert the people of the area before releasing the water.
However, the youths from Assam were not aware of the alarm and the warning by MeECL, the police added.
While the deceased was sent to Civil Hospital Nongpoh for postmortem, the search operation for the missing youth will continue, police said.
