Four drown in Tapi near Kakrapar dam

Surat: Four persons drowned in the Tapi River near Kakrapar dam on Tuesday.

The tragedy unfolded after a young man who had taken cattle for grazing near the river failed to return home. His brother and two others later entered the river while searching for him and also drowned.

According to officials, 23-year-old Kaushik Chaudhary, a resident of Vankal village in Mandvi taluka, had gone near the river on Monday with his cattle. When he did not return till late evening, his brother, Sahil (25) along with Ganesh Chaudhary (43) and Pravin (35) went in search of him.

While searching for him early Tuesday, the trio reportedly found Kaushik’s clothes lying near the Khedpur riverbank. Suspecting he may have entered the water and encountered trouble, they went ventured into the water to look for him. However, all three are suspected to have been trapped and drowned.

As news of the incident spread, residents from nearby villages gathered at the spot in large numbers. Firefighters and rescue team carried out an extensive search operation before bodies of all four victims were fished out.