5 teens bathing in Ganga washed away, 3 rescued

PATNA: Two teenagers are feared drowned after they, along with three others, were swept away by strong currents while bathing in the Ganga river at Bhadra Ghat in the city on Monday.

Three of them were rescued, while two others - Shivam Kumar, 16, and Pawan Kumar, 17 - are still missing, according to Rahul Kumar Thakur, in charge of Alamganj police station .

The incident took place when five teenagers, all residents of Badi Patan Devi Colony and aged between 14 and 17 years, were playing in the water and bathing. "They strayed deep into the water, when they were swept away. SSB jawans successfully rescued three of them. Police, too, rushed to the spot, while state disaster response force (SDRF) deployed three teams to search for the missing children," Thakur said.

Ajit Singh Jadeja, SSB officer, said bathing in the Ganga is dangerous due to strong currents in the swollen river. "But, people continue to disregard safety warnings, resulting in such incidents. The administration positioned SDRF teams at various ghats and even put up barricades at different places for public safety," he said.