Rajkot: A 13-year-old boy from Tamil Nadu drowned in a canal in Morbi district on Thursday, while his elder brother who accompanied him into the water remains missing, officials said.The incident occurred around 11:28 am at the Dhrangadhra–Morbi branch canal.The boys, aged 13 and 15, were travelling with their truck driver father from Tamil Nadu to Gujarat during their vacation. The father had transported a load of powder from Karnataka and had unloaded it at Halvad. He was then heading towards Morbi with his two sons in an empty truck to load tiles.Near Morbi Chowkdi, the family halted along the canal. The boys reportedly went towards the canal on the pretext of answering nature’s call. However, in their father’s absence, they entered the water—reportedly to bathe—and were swept away.Fire teams from Morbi and Halvad launched a search operation. The body of the younger boy, identified as Sitesh Shivkumar (13), was recovered, while efforts are ongoing to trace his elder brother, Subhash (15), Morbi chief fire officer Jayesh Daki said.Local residents also joined the rescue efforts after being alerted to the incident.
