Jabalpur, June 27 (IANS) Three teenagers drowned while bathing in the Narmada River at Dadda Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district on Saturday afternoon, police said.

The victims, all residents of the Mujawar locality under the Garha area, had gone to the riverside with a group of friends for an outing when the tragedy occurred.

The deceased have been identified as Sohil, Sabir and Sahil, aged between 16 and 18 years.

Police said all three were engaged in private jobs and had left their homes earlier in the day.

They, along with five friends, reached Dadda Ghat on motorcycles at around 2 p.m. and entered the river for a bath.

According to the police, the three youths ventured into deeper waters and began struggling to stay afloat.

Their friends made desperate attempts to rescue them but were unsuccessful, as the trio disappeared beneath the surface within moments.

CSP Garha Ashish Jain said the police were alerted after the boys remained untraceable for a long time and their clothes were found lying on the riverbank.

“A police team immediately reached the spot and launched a search operation. Since the location is not frequented by bathers, local divers were called in to assist with the search,” he said.

The frightened friends initially returned home in panic.

One of them later informed family members about the incident, prompting relatives and local residents to rush to Dadda Ghat and alert the police.

After nearly three hours of intensive searching, divers located the bodies entangled in underwater bushes near the ghat.

The bodies were recovered and sent to the Government Medical College for post-mortem examinations.

The bereaved families were subsequently informed.

Jain further informed that a case of unnatural death had been registered and that further investigation was underway.

“Prima facie, it appears the youths accidentally entered deep water while bathing. The exact sequence of events is being verified, and statements of their friends are being recorded as part of the investigation,” he said.

–IANS

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