Kendrapara, Sept 9:  Forest personnel from the Rajnagar range on Monday rescued a woman and her son who had gone missing inside Bhitarkanika National Park after losing their way while catching crabs.

The rescued duo has been identified as Anjana Mirdha (45) and her son Ratindra Mirdha (18), residents of Debendra Narayanpur village under Rajnagar tehsil.

According to reports, Anjana and Ratindra, along with two fellow villagers Ahalya and Chandra had ventured nearly 10 km deep into the forest on Sunday to catch crabs. While their companions returned home later that evening, the mother and son failed to do so.

When the two did not return by night, worried family members lodged a missing complaint at Rajnagar police station, following which the police alerted the forest division.

Acting promptly, the forest department launched a large-scale search operation, deploying 10 teams across different areas of the park. After hours of combing the dense forest, the duo was finally located near Gupti Nature Camp, sitting beside a nullah. They had lost their way and spent the night near the water body.

The mother and son were safely brought back by boat. Officials confirmed that both are safe and in stable condition.