22-year-old drowns in sea, friend missing

Till late evening, a search operation was underway to locate his friend, the police said. (Representational Image)

A 22-year-old man drowned at Juhu beach on Sunday after he had gone to swim there with a friend. Till late evening, a search operation was underway to locate his friend, the police said.

Vile Parle residents Abhishek Madav (22) and Ankur Batekar (17) entered the water at Juhu Koliwada on Sunday around 3.15 pm, the police said. Sunday recorded the highest tide in the entire year, with waves reaching heights of 4.97 metres at 1 pm, according to the BMC. The youth were sucked deep into the sea, where the locals spotted them and alerted the police and lifeguards, the police said.

The fire brigade reached the spot, and Madav’s body was recovered around 4.40 pm. It was sent to Cooper Hospital for a post-mortem.

The fire brigade said efforts to locate Batekar were on. Chief Fire Officer Prabhat Rahangdale said the spot where the boys had gone to swim was away from the main stretch of the beach, where lifeguards are deployed. A case of accidental death has been registered at Santacruz police station.