The maximum city recorded its first monsoon tragedy when three young boys drowned at the famed Juhu Beach and one was rescued by the Mumbai Fire Brigade, the BMC Disaster Control said here on Wednesday.
The incident happened around 5 p.m. on Tuesday when the four friends had gone to frolic in the Arabian Sea waters, behind the J.W. Marriott Hotel on Juhu Beach.
According to eyewitnesses, they were swept away by strong waves or caught in the choppy sea’s underwater currents, and locals raised an alarm.
They alerted the police and fire departments, who rushed to the scene and later launched a massive search and rescue operation for the missing boys with the help of the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy divers.
The rescuers were able to save one of the boys, Abhishek Sharma, 18, who was unharmed, late Tuesday night.
The bodies of Kaustubh Gupta, 18, Prathamesh Gupta, 16, and Manohar Singh, 20, were recovered from the Arabian Sea early on Wednesday (June 15), according to the BMC.
Their bodies were sent for autopsies, and their families were informed. They were all residents of the Chembur-Vashi Naka area in north-east Mumbai.
Meanwhile, to prepare for any such eventualities as monsoon improves over the city, the Mumbai Fire Brigade and BMC will deploy its own and private lifeguards on all beaches and install warning signs at dangerous spots on the western sea-front, besides keeping ready surfboards, rescue boats and jet-skis for emergencies.
(with inputs from IANS)