Two down in Chinchoti waterfall in Vasai

Two men drowned in Vasai’s Chinchoti waterfall on Wednesday. The bodies were found on Thursday morning by the fire brigade and local swimmers of the area

Two men drowned in Vasai’s Chinchoti waterfall on Wednesday. The bodies were found on Thursday morning by the fire brigade and local swimmers of the area.

This is the seventh case of drowning in a month at the waterfall (HT File Photo)

The deceased have been identified as Ramesh Sakpal, 21, and Suresh Gupta, 24. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem.

On Wednesday afternoon, the group of eight youths from Bhayander arrived at Chinchoti waterfall in Vasai, Mumbai, for a swim after lunch. Ramesh was in the water when he was drawn by the strong current and Suresh rushed into the water to save him but only to meet the same fate. None of them knew how to swim. The duo was swept away by the strong current, said an official. Another of their friends also dived into the water to rescue the two, but was saved by others just on time, said PSI Pravin Nimbhalkar, Waliv police station.

The fire brigade was called in from the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation. They found the bodies with the help of local swimmers on Thursday morning. “We have sent the bodies for post mortem,” said the officer. “Apparently, the two boys did not gauge the depth of the water, and were drawn away by the strong current.”

This is the seventh case of drowning in a month at the waterfall. “Despite the forest department issuing warnings to people asking them not to step into the water, people still do and meet such sad ends,” said Nimbhalkar.