Teen drowns in Etawah canal; SDRF searching for body

Kanpur: A 17-year-old boy drowned in a canal near Pilkhar village in the Ekdil police station area of Etawah after he drifted into deep water while bathing, police officials said.The teenager, identified as Sameer, a resident of Mohalla Katra Shamsher Khan in the Shahar Kotwali area, went to the canal on Saturday afternoon with his three cousins, Sanu, Ali and Rehan.It was reported that all four were initially bathing on the canal bank. After some time, Sameer entered the canal and moved towards deep water, where he began to drown. His cousins tried to save him, but he was submerged.On hearing an alarm raised by his companions, people nearby rushed to the spot, but nothing could be traced. Ekdil police station personnel reached the spot and began a search operation with the help of local divers and villagers. A search was conducted by casting nets from the canal gate to the incident site, and police officers also searched surrounding areas, but the boy couldn't be found till late night.Due to strong water flow in the canal, the search operation faced difficulties, following which the water flow was reduced from Balrai Escape.CO City, Abhaynarayan Rai, reached the site and directed the police and divers to intensify the search.On Sunday morning, the SDRF team joined the rescue operation. Officials said that the SDRF has been searching for the boy since morning but no trace of him has been found yet.