Two relatives drown in Ulhas River; rescue operations on

Thane: Two men drowned in the Ulhas River near the Khadakpada area, Kalyan, on Friday morning when they went to wash their clothes.

The victims, Sarfraz Ansari, 28, a driver, and Salman Ansari, 29, a mechanic, were relatives and stayed together near Hindustan Bakery in Shantinagar. According to the police, when one of them started drowning, the other went to save him but both drowned.

“They were washing their clothes on the banks of Ulhas River near Vadavali dam around 11.30am when the incident occurred,” an officer from Khadakpada police station said. “The duo would come together to the river to wash clothes. On Friday, after washing their clothes, Sarfraz went inside the water and was swimming, but when he started drowning, Salman rushed in to help, but both drowned.”

The officer added that the bodies are yet to be recovered. “The rescue operation, which included expert swimmers and the fire bridge officials, was called off on Friday. We will start it again on Saturday.”