Two teenagers drown in JH fishery pond

JOWAI: Two students of Class X drowned in a fishery pond at Demthring in West Jaintia Hills on Thursday afternoon.
The duo, identified as Wanpynsuk Ryngkhlem (16) and Ebun Suting (16), went to the pond, owned by a villager from Demthring, around 12.30pm for swimming.
Eye witnesses said there were four boys and one of them could not swim and he drowned. Seeing this, the other teenager tried to save him but in vain.
While one of the victims studied in a village school the other was a student of Govt. Boys’ Higher Secondary School, Jowai.
It took several hours for villagers to pull out the bodies. Police and the Fire and Emergency Service were also informed but due to lack of trained people, the fire service personnel could not help.
“The Department should consider that there should be at least few trained personnel to pull out the body of any drown victims,” said a concerned villager.
The pond was constructed by the Soil and Water Conservation Department, Jowai.