Two brothers drown in Chandu Budhera canal

Two brothers drowned in a canal in Chandu Budhera on Saturday morning, said police. A team of fire department officials and divers took about 40 minutes to recover

Two brothers drowned in a canal in Chandu Budhera on Saturday morning, said police. A team of fire department officials and divers took about 40 minutes to recover the bodies.

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The dead were identified by their first names as 18-year-old Sandeep and 16-year-old Mandeep, both from Masina village in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Police said they had been working as masons and stayed on rent on Pataudi road with their family. According to the fire department, the incident was reported to them close to 8am, following which a rescue vehicle was dispatched.

“Prima facie, probe has found that the brothers had gone near the canal to relieve themselves. Mandeep went to the canal to fetch water and as he lunged, he slipped into an area that was 15 feet deep. His elder brother jumped in to save him, but he was also swept away by the current,” said Ramzan, assistant fire station officer (AFSO), sector 37 fire station. “Their bodies were found 30 feet away from where they were swept away. The entire operation took about 40 minutes.”

Police said the victims were accompanied by two friends, who reported the incident to the police around 7.45 am.

A police official, privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said, “The victims’ family have not alleged any foul play. The victims were rushed to the civil hospital, where doctors declared them dead-on-arrival. The bodies have been handed over to the family after the autopsy.” No case had been registered.

Incidents of people drowning in the canal are common with police stating that despite repeated warnings, people continued to go to the canal for swimming, relieving themselves or recreation purposes. Authorities had put up a board displaying the depth of the canal as a warning and police patrolling at night was increased.

On July 19, a 24-year-old man, who had gone to the canal for a swim with his friends, had drowned. Last year in June, 2019, a 29-year-old man, who worked at a private company in Kapashera near Delhi-Gurugram border, had drowned in Dhankot. A week prior to that incident, on May 31, 2019, a 16-year-old boy had drowned in the same canal. The boy, a student of class 11, had gone to the canal along with six friends for a swim and his body was recovered after ten hours by the police.