Four students drowned in a dam on the Dhawari river at Pokharwadi near Sondewadi village in Raigad district on Friday. The victims belonged to a trekking group from a Bandra-based college.

The deceased have been identified as Eklavya Umesh Singh, 18; Ishant Dinesh Yadav, 19; Akash Dharmadas Mane, 26; and Ranath Mahadu Banda, 18. According to the police, the students had arrived at the spot via bus, started climbing to the site of the Sondai hill fort at 10 am and descended at 1.30 pm.  Later, the students swam in the dam. “Singh was the first to drown. Yadav, Mane and Banda ventured into the water to save him but they also lost their lives,” said a police officer. The bodies were later recovered and brought to a rural hospital. Most of the students are said to be NCC cadets.