Seraikela (Jharkhand), July 26 : In a tragic incident, four youths drowned while bathing in a check dam at Dalaikala village, in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharsawan district on Saturday, officials said.

The victims have been identified as Gaurav Mandal, Harivas Das, Sunil Sahu, and Manoj Sahu, all residents of the same village.

According to villagers, six youths had gone to the check dam for a bath around noon. While two stayed on the banks, four others ventured into the water. Eyewitnesses said that as soon as they entered deep waters, their heads hit sharp stones lying beneath the water surface, causing them to lose consciousness.

With no safety ropes or barriers in place, the unconscious youths began to drown. The two standing outside raised an alarm, drawing villagers to the scene. Despite frantic rescue attempts and the arrival of the local administration and police, the youths could not be saved.

The bodies were later recovered and sent for postmortem. The incident has plunged the entire Dalaikala village into mourning.

The check dam, like many others in Jharkhand, lacks basic safety infrastructure. There are no warning boards, no lifeguards, and no fencing around the structure.

This is the latest in a series of drowning incidents in the state. On June 8, two engineering students from RVS College in Jamshedpur drowned while bathing in the Kharkai River.

In the last three months, more than 40 people have died in Jharkhand due to drowning in check dams, reservoirs, waterfalls, and ponds -- mostly during picnics or swimming attempts in unsafe waters.

Officials have said efforts are being made to identify accident-prone water bodies and put safety measures in place. However, locals remain skeptical, pointing out that similar promises were made after previous incidents, but no action followed.

/IANS