Teen swept away chasing specs in Ganga at Rishikesh's Triveni Ghat

A teenage boy from Dehradun went missing after he entered the deep water to retrieve his specs, which fell into the Ganga at Triveni Ghat while he was bathing, and a strong current swept him away, officials said on Sunday.The youth was identified as 17-year-old Ayush Thapa, a resident of Old Connaught Place on Chakrata Road in Dehradun.State Disaster Response Force SDRF inspector-in-charge Kavindra Sajwan said Thapa arrived in Rishikesh with three friends.

A teenage boy from Dehradun went missing after he entered the deep water to retrieve his specs, which fell into the Ganga at Triveni Ghat while he was bathing, and a strong current swept him away, officials said on Sunday.

The youth was identified as 17-year-old Ayush Thapa, a resident of Old Connaught Place on Chakrata Road in Dehradun.

State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) inspector-in-charge Kavindra Sajwan said Thapa arrived in Rishikesh with three friends. ''The group went to Triveni Ghat to bathe in the morning. Thapa dropped his spectacles into the river while bathing. He moved forward into the deep water to catch the spectacles. The swift current of the Ganga River immediately swept him away,'' he said.

Sajwan said personnel from the water police unit jumped into the river to rescue Thapa.

The initial rescue attempts failed, he said, adding that a team of deep divers reached the spot shortly after the incident and is conducting a search operation.

Sajwan said extreme summer heat causes rapid glacier melting, which significantly increases the river's water level.

The rise in water level creates a strong undercurrent in the Ganga, and people, unaware of this fact, fail to take precautions while bathing and meet with accidents, the officer said.