Two boys drowned in the sea and one went missing near the Versova jetty after a group of five friends went for Ganpati immersion on Sunday. The other two were saved and are recovering in hospitals. The childhood friends from Kasam Nagar slum in Andheri West would go for immersion together every year.

According to Hiraman Tavde, father of deceased Sanjay Tavde, 20, they bring Ganpati idol every year and friends and neighbours always accompany them to the immersion site. “There were seven of us who entered the sea, and as soon as I turned back a huge wave swept in the boys. One of us who knows how to swim pulled the two boys [Shivam and Vijay] to the shore. But I could not see my son and the other two. My son did not know how to swim,” said Tavde.