GONDA: One person died, and three youths went missing in separate drowning incidents during Durga idol immersion in Gonda district on Tuesday, police said.
In the first incident, five youths -- Pradeep (20), Raghuvar (19), Sumit Prajapati (20), Abhishek Tiwari (18) and Ram Vilas Prajapati (18) from Bhairampur village -- began drowning in the Tedhi river near Laxmanpur in the Tarabganj area while immersing an idol, Superintendent of Police Abhishek said.
While Pradeep (20) managed to come out safely, locals rescued Raghuvar and Sumit, and the remaining two, Abhishek and Vilas, are missing.
Police said Sumit later died during treatment, while Pradeep and Raghuvar are undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate Savita Shukla said the incident occurred at a spot that was not a designated immersion ghat and the organisers had neither obtained permission nor informed the administration.
In a separate incident at Bhainsahwa Ghat on the Kuano river in Dhanepur area, Tularam Shukla went missing while attempting to rescue four people who were drowning, Additional Superintendent of Police Abhishek Dvachya said.
The four, Daddan (35), Prince (22), Deepak (23) and Uttam (22), had entered deep water during the immersion procession.
The officer said Tularam entered the river to rescue them but went missing.
The four were, however, saved with the help of locals, police said.