Athagarh: At least four persons sustained injury and two of them later turned critical in wild boar attack in Kandarpur village under Athagarh Forest Division in Cuttack district on Friday.
The deceased have been identified as Saroj Sahu, Santosh Sahu, Pranabandhu Sahu and Nishikant Dhal.
The victims had gone to a river near the village to take bath in the morning when the wild animal attack took place. The wild boar which had sneaked into the village last night pounced on Saroj and Santosh and started mauling them. As the other two tried to save their friends from the boar it also started attacking them and ran into the forest.
The injured were rescued by the villagers later in the morning and admitted to Athagarh Hospital from where Saroj and Santosh have been shifted to SCB Medical in Cuttack of late.
As tension ran high in the village following the boar attack, forest officials reached the spot and took stock of the situation.
Crackers are being burst near the village to prevent the wild bear from entering into the human habitat and efforts are on to catch it, said a forest department source.
Kalinga AI