Two rescued by locals and firefighters
Ponda: One trainee of the Sports Authority of India (SAI)’s training centre based in Curti, Ponda, drowned on Sunday in the Ganjem river in Usgao, while another went missing after they ventured into the river for swimming. Two others were rescued from mid-water by locals and firefighters.
The deceased person has been identified as Lavprith Singh (24), a native of Punjab. Search was conducted for the missing trainee, Dhananjay Khanath (18) from Maharashtra.
According to the police, a group of seven SAI trainees had come to the river near the WRD Bandhara in Ganjem on Sunday evening to swim after reportedly searching for nearby spots on Google.
As they entered the river, four of them were caught in the current. Two of them managed to cling to rocks midstream and remained stranded for nearly an hour before being rescued by local residents and firefighters from the Ponda office of the fire and emergency services.
A search was immediately launched for the two trainees swept away by the current.
The body of Singh was recovered late Sunday evening. However, Khanath could not be traced, and the search will resume on Monday, fire officials said.
The trainees, who had recently arrived in Goa for sports training, were residing at the SAI hostel in Curti.
Local resident Praveen Gaude and firefighters Santosh Gaonkar (team leader), Aniket Masurkar, and Bashir Muzawar played a key role in the rescue operation.