Patna, Jul 22 (IANS): In a tragic incident, four people drowned in the Ganga River in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district on Monday.

The incident took place at Mathurapur Jahaj Ghat in the Naugachia sub-division, when a group of ten youths, aged 20 to 30, went for a holy bath on the first Monday of the Sawan month.

Despite the district administration’s efforts to barricade the Ghat and keep people within the safety limits, however, the group crossed the barricades to take a bath in the middle of the river, underestimating the strong current.

Eyewitnesses said that the youths struggled against the current and drowned.

Local divers and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams, who were present at the scene, promptly started a rescue operation.

Unfortunately, four youths drowned in the water before they could be rescued.

Six of the youths were saved and admitted to the sub-divisional hospital in Naugachia, with two of them in critical condition.