‘Locals were scared to rescue our friends’

Friends of the three youngsters who drowned at Tungareshwar in Vasai on Sunday said locals were afraid of helping them.

Friends of the three youngsters who drowned at Tungareshwar in Vasai on Sunday said locals were afraid of helping them.

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Saurabh Chawla, one of the 10 youngsters who went for the picnic, said, “Eight of us had ventured into the water, but none of us knew how to swim. When we saw our friends drowning, we started calling for help.”

According to Chawla, since the area was secluded, it took them sometime to get the locals’ attention. “However, even after that none of them helped us because they were scared. Another group of picnickers started to help us. Some tried to rescue our friends while others called the police. By the time the three of them were taken to the hospital, they were dead.”

Families of the youngsters claimed they knew that the group was going for a picnic, but not the destination. They said the boys were usually very careful.

The victims — Mayur Waghmare, 19,Sonu Kanojia, 19, and Abhishek More 21 — were students. While Waghmare was doing his engineering, the other two were studying Bachelor of Commerce (BCom).