Vasco/Ponda: Four youths from Vasco, including three siblings, drowned on Saturday morning when they had gone for a swim near Metawada in Dudhsagar river at Collem-Dharbandora.The deceased have been identified as brothers Hiranna Madar (21), Ramanna Mader (19), and Laxman Mader (19), and their friend Vijay Sajili (19), all residents of New Vaddem, Vasco.A fifth youth, Rahul Harijan, who had accompanied them, noticed that the four were struggling in the water, so he swam to the banks and went to the nearest police location to report the incident and seek help. However, the four could not be saved in time. Police later retrieved the bodies with the help of search and rescue teams.The group of five youths had planned the picnic at Collem and accordingly at 7am took a Collem-bound local train from Vasco on Saturday morning. They reached the picnic spot at around 9 am.Rahul, who witnessed the drownings, said that the older brother of the three siblings Hiranna first called out for help after he found himself in deep waters.“His two younger brothers Ramanna and Laxman, twins, rushed to his rescue. Their friend Vijay also swam towards the siblings to assist them. But suddenly all four disappeared from my sight,” said Rahul.Rahul said he tried his best to pull them up by offering a wooden stick, but unfortunately they were unable to reach it.The entire incident unfolded in less than five minutes before him, said Rahul.Later with the help of a drop provided by a two-wheeler rider, Rahul went to the Kulem police station and narrated the incident. Police reached the site and retrieved the bodies.The bodies have been referred for the postmortem at the South Goa district hospital in Margao.The final rites for all the four youths will be held on Sunday in Vasco.
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