Three youths feared drowned in a canal in Muradnagar area here when one of them slipped into the deep waters and the rest tried in vain to rescue him this afternoon.
SHO Muradnagar Ummed Yadav said that a group of seven youths, all residents of Saraswati colony of Loni town, had gone to the Gang Nehar canal for swimming.
Due to the heavy rains in the catchment areas, the canal was flowing to the brim.
19-year-old Anil Yadav jumped into the canal and was washed away in the current. Later, in their bid to save Anil, Rajiv (24) and Gajendra (24) also plunged into the canal and were also disappeared in the gushing water.
The SHO said that local divers tried to rescue the youths but failed.
A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been called and till sunset a team of divers was surfing the water to trace the youth.
Chances of their survival are slim, police said, adding that some of their friends are being questioned.
