Six feared drowned in Narmada

Vadodara, Mar 16 (UNI) In a tragic mishap, six persons were feared drowned in the Narmada river near Uchedia village.

The mishap occurred at around 1500 hrs yesterday when a group of boys were bathing in the river. The local Jhagadiya police was informed about the incident late in the evening by three of the group, Nitin Patel, Keur Solanki and Shailesh Patel, who managed to survive, according to Bharuch Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) N A Munia.

The DSP said the victims were employees of a Bharuch-based service center, who had come to Uchedia village to celebrate Holi with their friends. Though, they had taken a country boat with them, the tragedy occurred. Seven of them slipped into the river and were swept away by the current.

Soon after, a massive search operation was undertaken jointly by the fire brigade, state government and private agencies. The body of one person, Harnish Patel (28), a resident of Bharuch, has been found.

Rescue teams were still searching for the six who have been identified as Hanif Patel, Piyush Parmar, Chirag Patel, Saheel, Nitesh and Samir Chowda, all in the age group of 25-28 year.

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