“The local lifeguards and stationed fire crew had warned them not to go for a swim, but they still went inside,” said chief fire officer Prabhat Rahangadale.
A swimming adventure went awry for a group of five youths after they were caught in rough waters at Juhu beach on Friday. While three were rescued immediately, two are still untraceable, officials said. Shockingly, the group was warned by the on-duty lifeguards not to venture in the sea, but they ignored their warning and went ahead for a swim.
According to local police, a group of five friends — local residents of Juhu-Koliwada and Bhayyawadi area — went to the beach at around 12:30pm for a quick swim, when the tragedy struck. The group ventured into the sea, even when on-duty lifeguards had warned them against entering into the high-tide waves.
“The local lifeguards and stationed fire crew had warned them not to go for a swim, but they still went inside,” said chief fire officer Prabhat Rahangadale.
Trying to blind the lifeguards, the youths went to a secluded spot, away from the main beachfront, and entered the water. As per their statement, with the local police, the tide started pulling them into deeper water and before they could cry for help, they started drowning. “A bystander caught this scene and immediately called the lifeguards," a police officer said.
Three of them — Abhijeet Mandal (18), Naveen Kamat (22) and Roshan Ghanta (17) — were promptly rescued by lifeguards and fire brigade crew. The other two — Samir Sheikh (17) and Rajesh Choudhari (20) — are yet to be traced, Rahangadale informed.
Search operations went on till late night, before being called out. Authorities claimed that, the duo are feared to have drowned.
“Our team will be on the lookout even at night with mega-torches to see if any body surfaces. Otherwise search operations will commence on Saturday again,” the officer added.
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