Khowai, August 9: A recreational outing with friends ended in tragedy in Tripura’s Khowai district on Sunday afternoon after two 18-year-old college students drowned while swimming near a sluice gate at Dhalabil Barua Para.
The deceased were identified as Mandeep Pal and Bhishma Das Chowdhury, both aged 18. The incident has left their families, friends and the local community in shock.
According to Indrajit Das, a friend of the victims and an eyewitness to the incident, Mandeep and Bhishma had gone to the area along with three other friends. The group of five had planned an outing after initially discussing a visit to Agartala and later decided to spend time in the Dhalabil area.
Indrajit said the friends were spending time together and having food before some of them entered the water near the sluice gate.
He said he too went into the water but came out after some time, while Mandeep and Bhishma continued swimming. The two subsequently got into difficulty in the water and drowned before their friends could reach them.
The other members of the group immediately raised an alarm and sought help following the incident.
A firefighter involved in the rescue operation said emergency personnel received information that two youths had drowned near the Dhalabil sluice gate and rushed to the spot.
Rescue personnel subsequently recovered both youths from the water with assistance from people present in the area.
The victims were then taken to Khowai District Hospital in a police vehicle. Doctors examined them on arrival but declared both dead.
Indrajit said none of the three other friends was able to reach Mandeep and Bhishma in time after they got into difficulty.
The sudden deaths of the two young college students have cast a pall of gloom over the locality, with residents expressing shock over the tragedy.
What began as a leisurely Sunday outing among five friends ended with the loss of two young lives, leaving their families and companions devastated.
Police and emergency personnel were involved in the response following the alarm, while the circumstances surrounding the drowning are expected to be examined further.
