NAVI MUMBAI: Four students of colleges in Mumbai drowned in the backwaters of a dam in Raigad on Friday afternoon, reports George Mendonca. One of the youngsters had ventured into the deep and found himself struggling to stay afloat when three of his friends tried to drag him to safety, but all four students drowned, police said.
All four, who were part of National Cadet Corps, had gone on a trek with 33 others in the backwaters of Morbe dam at Khalapur.The group had descended the fort around 1.30pm and entered the backwaters at the foot of the hill. That is when one of the students, Eklavya Singh (18), ventured into the deep. His cries for help alerted the other students. Three of them – Ranath Banda (18), Ishant Yadav (19) and Akash Mane (26) – rushed to help Singh. However, all the four youths drowned.
Senior inspector of Khalapur police station, Milind Khopade, said the four were declared dead at a local public hospital.