A morning outing of nine friends to beat the summer heat took a tragic turn as two young men drowned while seven others were rescued when the group was swept away into the Mahisagar river at Kotna riverside spot, popularly known as Kotna beach in Vadodara on Monday
According to the police, nine friends – all residents of Vadodara – went to Kotna on Monday and took a dip in the water.
However, strong river currents swept them away. While seven were rescued by local residents and emergency responders, two youths could not be saved. Officials said that some of the seven rescued persons also knew swimming and therefore managed to “hold on to each other”.
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Police identified the deceased as Jay Joglekar (22) and Krishna Vijay Rajput (23). A team from Nandesari police station reached the spot along with fire department personnel. The bodies of the deceased were retrieved by the search and rescue teams during the day and sent to Gotri Hospital for postmortem examination.
One of the victims, Jay Joglekar, was the son of a BJP worker from the city. Political leaders, including Raopura MLA Balkrishna Shukla and other elected representatives, visited the hospital to extend condolences to the family.
The incident has once again raised concerns over swimming in rivers, which has caused similar accidents in the past. A senior officer of Vadodara rural police said, “With rising temperatures, crowds are heading to water bodies for a swim. There have been adequate awareness messages and warnings put up at such locations as it is not safe to swim in surging rivers. Yet, people take the risk… in the present incident, we have lodged an accidental death case.”
Officials said that some of the seven rescued persons also knew swimming and therefore managed to “hold on to each other”. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons) 
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