Late on Monday afternoon, seven teenagers from Banur in Punjab's SAS Nagar district perished after drowning in the Gobind Sagar lake, located above the Satluj river in the Androuli hamlet. Police said seven bodies have been found. The deceased have been identified as Pawan Kumar, 35, Raman Kumar, 19, Love Kumar, 17, Vishal Kumar, 16, Shiv Kumar, 17, Lakhvir and Arun Kumar, 15, all residents of Meera Shah Colony in Banur in Mohali.
“The youth were on a pilgrimage to temples and shrines in Himachal on motorbikes. They were on their way to Baba Balak Nath temple in Hamirpur,” said Bangana sub divisional magistrate Yograj Dhiman.
If reports are believed, a group of 11 young people reportedly travelled to Una and visited the Pir Nigaha temple. They then continued on to the Baba Balak Nath temple in the Hamirpur neighbourhood. They halted along the route along the shores of Gobind Sagar lake in the community of Androuli and made the decision to go swimming. The eleven people all dove into the water, out of which only four survived. The four who swam to safety are Krishan Lal (32), Gurpreet Singh (23), Raman Kumar (17) and Sonu Kumar (28).
About The Incident
Some accounts, however, claimed that one of the young people opted to swim in the lake and started to drown. Six of the group members jumped in to help him, but they all drowned in the process.
After the four companions who were still alive shouted for assistance, villagers flocked to the scene and alerted the police. Emergency reaction teams were dispatched quickly to the scene from the sub divisional office and Bangana police station. The bodies have been submitted for an autopsy, and the families of the victims have also been notified, according to deputy superintendent of police (headquarters) Kulvinder Singh.
As the family learned of the tragedy, sadness descended across Ward No. 11 at Meera Shah Colony in Banur. Brothers Raman and Love Kumar, their uncle Pawan, and their cousin Lakhbir are among those who perished. Lakhbir worked in a pharmacy in Banur, whilst Pawan was employed at a liquor factory. While his brother Love was learning how to install PVC panels, Raman was a student at the polytechnic college in Banur.
CM Bhagwant Mann Tweet
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has offered condolences to the families of the deceased.