Mahendragarh(Haryana): As many as six people drowned during Ganesh idol immersions in two separate incidents in Haryana on Friday. While four persons died in the Mahendergarh district, two lost their lives in Sonipat district, officials said.
According to police four persons were killed and nine youths went missing in a canal while attempting to immerse Ganesh idol on Friday evening in Mahendergarh . Civil Surgeon Dr Ashok Kumar told reporters that four people were brought dead to the hospital. The district administration with the assistance of the NDRF launched a rescue operation and the survivors were rescued and hospitalized. The police have identified the deceased as Akash, Nikunj, Tinku and Nitin.
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All of them are residents of Dhani Mohalla of Mahendragarh. According to eyewitnesses, a section of the Ganesh idol procession entered into the canal with the idol in Jhagdoli. They did not gauge the water's depth and flow in the canal and several were swept under by the heavy water flow. Those who knew swimming pressed themselves into service and began looking for those who drowned. As for the Sonipat incident, two drowned in the Yamuna river, police said.
Expressing grief over the incident Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar tweeted "The news of the untimely death of many people due to drowning during Ganpati immersion in Mahendragarh and Sonipat districts is heart-wrenching." "We all stand with families of the dead in this difficult time. The NDRF team has saved many people from drowning, I pray for their speedy recovery," stated Khattar.
