Three teens drown in pond on outskirts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, two rescued

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Three teenage boys drowned in a pond at Devlai Tanda, near Sai Tekdi on the outskirts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, on Saturday evening, the police said. A group of five boys had gone for a swim when they entered deep waters, and started drowning. While two of the boys were rescued by fire brigade personnel, three drowned, the police added.The deceased boys have been identified as Vishal Ghule (15), Adarsh Ingle (15), and Yash Barambail (16), all residents of Laxmi Colony in the Satara area.The incident occurred around 5.45pm and triggered panic, with residents and relatives rushing to the spot as news spread.Inspector Raj Bansode, of the Chikalthana police station, said, “Police teams swung into action after receiving an alert on 112.”According to the police, the five friends had gone to the Sai Tekdi pond for a swim when they reportedly entered deeper waters and began struggling after misjudging the depth. A team from the Kanchanwadi fire station immediately went to the spot with rescue equipment. Firefighters managed to pull out two of the boys alive, but despite an intensive search, the remaining three could not be saved. Their bodies were later retrieved and handed over to the police.The police conducted a panchanama at the site and shifted the bodies to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for postmortem. A case was being registered at Chikalthana police station late Saturday night.The tragedy left families devastated. Relatives said the boys had told them they would return shortly before stepping out. As rescue operations were underway, family members broke down at the scene, while a large crowd gathered near the pond.Police said further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact circumstances leading to the drowning.