Budaun (UP), May 12 (PTI) Two youths drowned in river Ganga while bathing on the occasion of Buddha Purnima in Uttar Pradesh's Budaun district on Monday, police said.
Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Amit Kishore Srivastava said that a group of seven youths from Nagla Anee village in Hathras district had come to the Kachhla Ganga Ghat under Ujhani police station limits for taking a holy dip in the river.
In the afternoon, three of them -- Avneet, Saurabh, and Vinay -- ventured into deeper waters while bathing. Hearing their cries for help, fellow devotees alerted the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) divers stationed nearby.
The divers managed to rescue Avneet safely. However, Saurabh (21) and Vinay (20) could not be found immediately.
After an intensive search operation, the bodies of both youths were eventually retrieved and taken to the local Community Health Centre, where doctors declared them dead.
The families of the victims have been informed, officials said.