Mumbai: While immersing Ganpati idol during the Ganesh Visarjan ceremony on Sunday, at least five boys drowned in the sea at Versova Jetty. While two of the boys have been rescued, three are still missing, said Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). “In an unfortunate turn of events, 05 boys who ventured into the sea for Ganesh idol immersion, reportedly drowned at Versova Jetty. 02 boys were rescued by locals and sent to Cooper Hospital while the rescue operation for the remaining three is still on by fire brigade,” BMC tweeted on Sunday.
“This was not a designated immersion point. We had restricted people. However, they mischievously entered for Ganpati immersion,” said Manoj Waman Pohanekar, a police officer at Versova police station.
Speaking to the media, a fire brigade official said, “We received a call about the incident around 9 pm and reached the spot in half an hour, where we were told that five boys had ventured into the sea for immersing a Ganesh idol. But two of them were rescued by the people present there and some local residents before our team went there.”
The rescued boys were taken to the Cooper Hospital, the official said. “However, three boys are still missing, and a search operation is on with the help of lifeguards and members of the Flood Rescued Team. LED lights and a ferry boat is being used for the operation,” he said.
The help of Navy divers has been sought, the official said, adding that a fire engine, one boat, some lifeguards and other personnel are present at the spot.
(With Agency inputs)
