Ballia (UP), May 29 (PTI) Three teenage boys are feared to have drowned in the Ganga river while bathing at a ghat in Jagdishpur village on Thursday, police said.

The three boys -- Vinay Gond, Sandeep Gond and Wasim -- all residents of Sawan Chapra village, had left their homes earlier in the day to attend tuition classes and stopped at the Ganga ghat under the Dokati police station limits. They parked their bicycles to take a bath in the river, Mohammad Faheem Qureshi, Circle Officer of Bairia, told PTI.

Also Read | Delhi Fire: Massive Blaze Erupts at Shop in Chandni Chowk’s Katra Asharfi, No Casualties Reported (Watch Video).

They left their bags and clothes — underwear, vests and towels — before entering the river for a bath, Qureshi said. The boys ventured into deeper waters and subsequently were feared drowned, he said.

Local residents who reached the ghat in the evening informed the police after noticing the unattended belongings and no sign of the boys.

Also Read | Gujarat Fire: Blaze Erupts Near Surat International Airport Runway, Flights Diverted; No Casualties or Property Damage Reported.

A search operation was launched but no bodies have been recovered so far, Qureshi said, adding that the missing boys are aged between 15 and 16 years.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)