Bhubaneswar, Sept. 12 -- An elderly man went missing in the Mahendratanaya river in Odisha's Gajapati on Saturday morning after he allegedly got swept away while bathing.

The missing man has been identified as Durga Prasad Panigrahi of Amara village under Kerandi panchayat on the outskirts of Paralakhemundi.

According to reports, Panigrahi went to the river at around 5 am to bathe but did not return home. Some villagers reportedly saw him being swept away in the river from a distance and immediately alerted the fire services.

Upon receiving the information, a team from the Paralakhemundi Fire Services reached the spot and launched a search operation to trace the missing man.

However, the strong current in the Mahendratanaya river made...