Three young men, aged between 20 and 22 years, drowned in the Ghawaddi-Khanpur canal near Ludhiana on Sunday evening.
According to available information, the youths had gone to bathe in the canal around 4:30 pm when the incident occurred.
The deceased were identified as Varinder Singh Bindu and Viney Kumar, both residents of Manjeet Nagar, Ludhiana, and Ajay Kashyap, a resident of Abdullapur Basti.
A total of four youths were present at the canal. While three drowned, the fourth was rescued. The bodies of all three victims have been recovered.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the youths may have been under the influence of intoxicants. However, officials said the exact circumstances surrounding the incident will become clear after the post-mortem examination.
Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain termed the incident unfortunate.
“The rescue teams reached the spot, and the victims were taken to Civil Hospital, Dehlon. Three were declared dead, while one survived. We are investigating the exact cause of the deaths. The families have been informed,” Jain said.
