TURA: A six-year-old boy drowned in the Ganol river at Goeragre, 12 km from Tura, on Saturday.
Tedious D Sangma, whose father is a cop at the 2nd MLP Battalion Headquarters at Georagre, had gone to the Ganol Eco Park with friends late in the afternoon. The park is adjacent to the battalion headquarters separated by the Ganol river.
Sources said the boys sneaked into the park through a broken portion of the fences. They then got onto a boat that was anchored nearby. But they found it unstable.
The boys, including the six-year-old, jumped into the muddy water of the lake to swim back to the shore, the survivors said. While others reached the bank safely, Tedious could not make it.
An alarm was raised around 3 pm with police, fire and emergency rescue teams rushing in from nearby Rongram.
A team of divers from the police force stationed in Tura was pressed into service and after close to an hour of search, found the body.
The incident took place barely two days after the West Garo Hills district administration issued an advisory cautioning people against getting into the waters of the Ganol, which is known for its strong current, without supervision. The thunderstorm for the last two days has further raised the danger level.
The park management said visitors need to buy tickets and wear life jackets if they want to go sailing.
“In consultation with the
(Contd on P-10)
