Girls fall into sea clicking selfie, one goes missing with Good Samaritan

A selfie by the sea at Bandra Bandstand proved to be rather costly for three college-going girls from Govandi. In a freak incident of sorts, one teenager and a brave heart who tried rescuing them drowned in the sea at Bandra Bandstand on Saturday morning.

While two girls have been rescued, one of them is undergoing treatment at the civic run Bhabha hospital. Eight hours after the incident, the Fire brigade, police and the Coast Guard could not trace the missing two. Rescue operations are still on as over 50 personnel have been pressed into action to trace them.

According to police officials, the girls – Tarannum Ansari (18), Anjum Khan (17) and Mustareen Khan (18) – from Govandi's Baiganwadi had come to the sea facing promenade near Bandra fort for the first time, after bunking college. However, their attempt to take a selfie proved dangerous and Tarannum and Anjum slipped into the water.

A resident from a nearby chawl, Ramesh Walunje (38), jumped in to the waters and with his help Mustareen managed to pull Anujm out. Ramesh then swam to Tarannum, who by then had got washed away and was drowning. "The tide was too high and within minutes both of them disappeared," Mustareen told dna.

"It all happened in a second and Tarannum was gone," Mustareen said adding Tarannum's phone, with which the trio was taking the selfie, too got washed away and couldn't be traced.

While Tarannum studies in SNDT College, Ghatkopar, Mustareen and Anjum study at ST Mehta Women's College in the same locality. All three are in FY B.Com. "Our exams are approaching. So we thought of an outing before we get into the thick of studies. We walked all the way into the sea stepping on a stone walkway. By the time we were done, the stones had disappeared and the sea had risen. Anjum held on to my hand but I could not pull her out. She was clinging onto my hand. We screamed for help when Ramesh came running," Mustareen recalled.

Doctors said Anjum is still in shock and is under observation.

Ramesh's uncle Suresh Sawant said Ramesh, who works as a driver, was on his way to work. "He was just leaving for work when he heard the screams. He did not think twice and jumped into the sea. He left his lunch box and wallet on the ground. We rescue many who drown here. Ramesh was a great swimmer. I wonder how he drowned. He might have hit the boulders. He has lost his life trying to save a total stranger," Sawant said.

Walunje, who stays in the Jaffar Buwa Colony is survived by three kids (one son and two daughters) and his wife. Ramesh's friend and swimmer Subhash Tawade pointed out that Walunje might have lost stamina attempting to rescue two persons.

Fire officials said that they began rescue operations within 30 minutes of being informed. "We got a call at around 9:50 am. Since the police were informed before us, they had begun the rescue operations. We also asked for help from the Coast Guard and they deployed a search helicopter too. However, we haven't been able to find the missing duo," said Harish Shettye, assistant divisional fire officer.

Fire officials said the bodies might have floated away towards Worli with the tides. Tarannum's brother Anwar Khan said the trio had not informed them about their visit to Bandra. "We are in shock and are hoping that she is alive. We hope that it doesn't become a deadly outing," Anwar said.

Officials said that rescue operations would be called off at night. "We will resume the search on Sunday morning. We can't expect one to be alive after 12 hours. We will have to fish out the bodies if they float to the shore or if the helicopter spots them," said a fire official.