Bandipora, May 8: Two bodies were recovered while one youth remained missing after three young men drowned in River Jhelum at Check Chandergeer area of Hajin in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Friday, officials and locals said.
The incident occurred while the youths were reportedly washing tent material in the river.
The deceased and missing youths were identified as Sohail Ahmad Dar, 22, son of Ghulam Nabi Dar; Adil Ahmad Dar, 18, son of Bashir Ahmad Dar; and Sameer Ahmad Dar, 22, son of Mohammad Jamal Dar. All three are residents of Chandergeer Hajin.
Officials said the three youths accidentally slipped into the river during the work, triggering panic in the area.
Soon after the incident, local residents and volunteers rushed to the spot and launched rescue efforts in an attempt to trace the missing youths.
One body was initially retrieved from the river and shifted to Community Health Centre Hajin for medico-legal formalities. Later, rescuers recovered another body from the river, while search operations continued for the third missing youth till the filing of this report.
Locals expressed anger over what they described as a delay in the arrival of SDRF teams to the spot.
They said local youth entered the river and carried out rescue attempts on their own during the initial phase of the operation.
“The local boys were themselves searching inside the river while official rescue teams arrived late,” a resident alleged.
The incident triggered grief and panic in Chandergeer and adjoining areas as relatives and residents gathered near the riverbank during the rescue operation.
Officials said rescue teams, police personnel, and volunteers were continuing the search operation to trace the missing youth.
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