Eight drown in Meshwo river in Gujarat's Gandhinagar

Ahmedabad: Eight persons drowned while bathing in the Meshwo river in Gujarat's Gandhinagar district on Friday evening, an official said.

The deceased were residents of Vasna Sogthi village in Dehgam taluka, said Sub Divisional Magistrate B B Modiya, adding the incident took place near the village.

Modiya, who supervised the search and rescue operation, said a group of villagers who came to the waterbody to immerse Ganesh idols learnt about the drowning incident and alerted authorities.

"After getting a message, police and fire brigade personnel rushed to the site. We recovered eight bodies from the river. One person who was assumed to be missing was later found moving about in the village. So the rescue operation, which continued till late evening, was called off," he said.

"The deceased were locals who had come to bathe in the river. They may have misjudged the river's depth since its water level has risen recently due to an under-construction check dam a little distance away," Modiya informed.