Four boys, aged 15 to 16, drowned in the Ulhas River on Friday afternoon while bathing to wash off Holi colors. The tragic incident occurred when a group of eight boys from Poddar Housing Society, Badlapur East, ventured into the river.
The deceased have been identified as Aryan Medar (15), Siddhartha Singh (16), Aryan Singh (15), and Omsingh Tomar (15), all residents of the same locality.
According to the Badlapur Kulgaon police, the boys had been celebrating Holi and decided to go to the river around 2:30 PM on Friday. While in the water, one boy began to drown, prompting two others to attempt a rescue, but they also struggled and started sinking. Another boy tried to help but met the same fate.
The four remaining boys immediately alerted locals, police, and their parents. Fire officials and rescue teams rushed to the scene and retrieved the bodies within two hours. The victims were sent to the Primary Health Center in Badlapur for post-mortem examination.
Badlapur Fire Station officials stated that they received an emergency call and dispatched a seven-member team with one fire tender.
Senior Police Inspector Govinda Patil from Badlapur Kalyan Police Station said, “Our patrol team was alerted by the boys, and we immediately called for local assistance. While one body was retrieved by locals, the fire brigade conducted a two-hour rescue operation and recovered three more by 4:30 PM. We have initially registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR).”
