19-year-old ventures into water for fun, drowns at Juhu beach

Life guards along with Mumbai Fire Brigade personnel search for the youth who drowned. (Photo: Asian Age)

A teenager is reported to have drowned while he was out for a swim at Juhu beach on Sunday afternoon. The police said the teenager had come with three other friends for an outing. A team of lifeguards and police personnel is still searching for his body. The incident occurred around 1.30 pm. The deceased has been identified as Abraal Sheikh (19), a resident of Bandra and was accompanied by Mohan Singh, Salman Ansari and Ejaz Khan, Bandra residents.

“He went into the water to swim, but it is possible he was not a proficient swimmer and was soon sucked into the water. Since low tide was setting in, he could not save himself and got sucked further down. His friends who were standing at the shore started screaming for help and our lifeguards rushed in, but it was too late to save him,” said Neville David, president of Juhu Lifeguards Association, an NGO that conducts rescue operations at the beach.

Shantanu Pawar, senior inspector, Santa Cruz, said preliminary probe revealed the boy was not a swimmer and had ventured into the water for fun. “His friends apparently tried to dissuade him, but were unsuccessful and within minutes of entering the water he started getting pulled in due to the strong currents,” he said.