Noida: Two men were feared drowned in Hindon river near Haibatpur in Greater Noida on Saturday while attempting to retie a boat rope that had snapped mid-river.Search teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (UP PAC) and local firefighters were still searching for the men as of Sunday evening.They were identified as Shiv Rajput (19) and Saurav (20), both originally from Bulandshahr and residents of Yusufpur Chak village in Bisrakh.According to Ranjeet Singh, station house officer of Bisrakh police station, a rope used to guide boats across the river was tied from one bank to the other. Around 3pm on Saturday, the rope broke, and Saurav jumped into the water to retie it. The strong current and rain made this impossible, and he was swept away while still holding the rope. Shiv, his friend, jumped in to rescue him and also drowned.“The man, holding a rope, was swimming to the other end when he was washed away. After this, Shiv also jumped into the river to save Saurav, but unfortunately, he too drowned,” the SHO said.Locals alerted police through the emergency helpline, prompting a team from a nearby outpost to rush to the spot, after which SDRF, NDRF and fire department teams, along with senior officials, joined the rescue operation.“It is suspected that due to the strong current of water, they may have been washed away to a distant location. However, nets have been placed, and divers are working round the clock to locate them,” the SHO said.Teams have searched several kilometres of the river where the two are suspected to have drowned, but they remain untraceable.
