Two men swept away by Ganga while clicking pics at restricted Rishikesh beach

Two young men from Uttar Pradesh went missing after being swept away by the Ganga River while posing for photographs at a restricted beach in Rishikesh.

Two young men from Uttar Pradesh went missing after being swept away by the Ganga while posing for photographs at a restricted beach here, officials said on Friday.

The missing individuals have been identified as Mohammad Faizan (25) and Mohammad Kaif (19), both from a village in Amroha district.

They were part of a group of four visiting a white sand beach in the Lakshman Jhula area, which, officials said, was a restricted zone where tourist movement was prohibited.

The incident took place on Thursday evening when the two men lost their balance on the riverbank while posing for a picture, and were swept away by the strong currents of the river.

The other two members of the group, who unsuccessfully tried to rescue the duo, informed the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) about the accident.

SDRF inspector Kavindra Sajwan said a search operation was launched on Thursday evening, which was still underway to trace the missing duo.