MUMBAI: Three students from Mumbai, including two girls from a medical college, are feared drowned while bathing in the Ganga river in Haridwar in Uttarakhand on Wednesday, a Mumbai police official said.
The official said a group of five students from Mumbai had gone on a picnic in the northern state.
Karan Mishra, who was part of the group, told PTI over the phone from Tapovan that they had left Mumbai on July 30 for Haridwar on a picnic.
"On Wednesday afternoon we all entered the Ganga river at Tapovan to take bath. The spot is located close to the hotel where we were staying," he said.
Mishra said he and another girl too took a dip in the river and came out, but three others entered the deep water to take another dip.
"They couldn't return to the river bank due to the strong current of water and swept away. One of them shouted for help, but we couldn't do anything," he recalled.
Mishra said he and his friend immediately informed the incident to the hotel staffers who alerted the local police, following which a rescue operation was launched.
The trio could not be traced even six hours after the search operation was launched.
The operation was called off for the day due to darkness, he said.
"I was taken to the Tapovan police station for inquiry," he said, adding the two girls who were swept away were pursuing medical studies in Mumbai while their male friend was in the last year of engineering course.
Mishra said he is a resident of suburban Malad while others hailed from Borivali and Mira Road.
Set beside the Ganga river, Tapovan is known for yoga ashrams, adventure tourism, and upscale resorts.