2 youths swept out to sea off Juhu beach; 1 body recovered

Two youngsters are feared to have died by drowning after they ventured into Juhu Beach Friday afternoon. Officials said that of the five who had gone for a swim in the sea, three were rescued while two were swept away. The body of one of the youngsters was found late Friday night.

Officials said the five youngsters were identified as Rajendra Chowdhary (20), Sameer Sheikh (18), Naveen Kamat (22), Abhijit Mandla (21) and Roshan Ghanta (21). “They were all residents of Juhu Koliwada and had come to the beach for leisure,” said a senior officer from Santacruz police station.

He said the youngsters were initially warned against frolicking near the main beach area but they persisted. “Lifeguards on the beach had asked them to not venture into the water. So, they moved further away from the main beach area and continued to frolic in water,” he said.

Sources said the five youth were pulled into the water and as none of them knew swimming, they could not fight the strong currents. “When people heard the five of them shouting for help, they jumped into save them. However, only three of them could be saved; Sheikh and Chowdhary were swept farther away,” said an officer.

Officials added that rescue operations were on till evening and that one body was recovered. “We found his body near the beach area of Juhu Tara Road. It has been sent to the hospital,” said a person who was among the rescuers. The rescue operations for the second youth will continue Saturday morning.

Post lifeguards on beaches: Bombay HC tells Maharashtra The Bombay high court Friday asked the Maharashtra government to post lifeguards at all the beaches in the state and undertake adequate safety measures, including warning signals and watchtowers, so as to prevent cases of drowning.

The direction was given by a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka, which was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Janhit Manch, an NGO, on the issue of beach safety in the wake of a recent incident off Murud Janjira beach near Alibaug, in which 14 students, of which 10 were girls, drowned earlier this year.