Six people, including two minors, were rescued from drowning at the Visarjan Ghat of the Western Yamuna Canal (WJC) in Yamunanagar on Thursday during Ganga Dussehra celebrations.
The group comprised two women, two minor boys, a temple priest, and his son. According to Neha, a resident of Saharanpur, the families had gathered at the ghat to take a ritual dip in the Yamuna when some members decided to wade deeper into the canal, believing the current was slow.
Diver Rajeev, who assisted in the rescue, said the women initially returned to the bank, but the boys stayed longer in the water and began to drown. Hearing their cries, the women jumped back in to save them but were unable to swim.
A nearby temple priest tried to rescue the women but also struggled to return to the riverbank. His son then rushed in to help. “We were nearby and immediately dived in. We first pulled out the boys, who were on the verge of drowning, and then rescued the others with the help of locals,” Rajeev said.