According to reports, the incident took place when Rutuvik Naik (11) of Karwar and Dhruv Vaddar (6) from Bhatpal, had gone for a swim in the river without informing their families.
Rutuvik Naik hailed from Nandangadda-Karwar and had gone to stay with his maternal aunt at Dhupemal-Bhatpal. His aunt had originally planned to drop him back to Nandangadda on Friday itself, but Rutuvik expressed his desire to stay for two more days. His maternal uncle then decided to take him back to Nandangadda on Sunday instead.
While they were swimming, Rutuvik and Dhruv disappeared in the water. A third boy who was on the riverbank ran back home to alert his family and within a short while, locals gathered near the river.
A youth jumped into the river to conduct a search and managed to retrieve the bodies of Rutuvik and Dhruv.
A Canacona police team and a fire brigade rushed to the scene and conducted a panchnamaof the incident. The bodies were initially taken to the Canacona hospital and were later sent to the District Hospital in Margao for a post-mortem examination.
Dhruv's father, Uday Waddar, who works as a private bus driver, was overcome with grief at the hospital upon receiving the news about his son’s tragic death.
Concerned that a growing number of people visit the River at Vajrem to bathe, Shristhal Panch Ramu alias Dhillan Naik has demanded safety measures to be implemented at the site.
