Two teenage boys lost their lives due to drowning in a water-filled trench near an under-construction bridge pillar in the Pani Nallah area of Kishtwar district in Chenab Valley on Friday.
The incident occurred around 1:30 pm in village Pani Nallah of Drabshalla tehsil, when the two boys, identified as Irfan Ahmed, 17, son of Atta Muhammad, and Tasir Hussain, 19, son of Noor Hussain, both residents of Pani Nallah, had gone to bathe in a stagnant pool of water formed due to excavation work carried out by a road construction company.
The trench was dug for the erection of a bridge pillar along the Chenab River.
Eyewitnesses and locals said that both boys likely failed to assess the depth of the water and drowned shortly after entering the pool.
The area was reportedly deserted at the time, as most people from the village had gone to offer Friday congregational prayers.
Upon receiving information, Police teams from Police Post Drabshalla, along with residents, divers, and volunteers, rushed to the site and launched a rescue operation.
The boys were pulled out of the water in an unconscious state and immediately shifted to the Community Health Centre (CHC) Thathri.
However, doctors at the facility declared both teenagers as ìbrought dead.î
Hospital authorities at CHC Thathri confirmed the identities of the deceased and said the bodies were handed over to their legal heirs after completion of medico-legal formalities for the last rites.
Police in Kishtwar have taken cognisance of the matter and initiated proceedings under relevant sections.
Further investigation into the circumstances leading to the drowning is underway.