<p>Waterside picnic turned tragic for two teenage friends as they drowned in Bellahalli lake, off Hebbal, on Saturday morning while their peers watched in horror. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The deceased, Fayyaz, 17, and Sufiyan, 18, were among a group of eight boys which had gone for picnic to make the most of the holiday due to Deepawali. The boys chose Bellahalli lake for its scenic beauty and as it was closer to where they study — Presidency College, Kempapura Main Road. After reaching the waterfront, they ate the breakfast they had brought from home. Then Fayyaz plunged into the water and Sufiyan began clicking his photographs. Fayyaz then went further into the lake to pose for the flashbulb. <br /><br />“But he didn’t know to swim and started drowning. Seeing that, Sufiyan jumped into the water to save him,” Yasin, one of the boys, recounted. “He also disappeared in no time.” <br />Bystanders rushed to the lake as the panicked boys screamed for help. A few men then jumped into the water and fished Fayyaz out. He was dead by then. A while later, the local police and the fire and emergency services personnel also reached the lake. Sufiyan’s body was fished out within an hour. <br /><br />A senior officer with Bagalur police said the lake was not very deep. The lake bed was, however, muddy and the boys got stuck in it. They could not rise up and were thus drowned. As he fell into the water backwards due to the strong current, Fayyaz suffered a head injury as it banged on a stone. Sufiyan got stuck in the bushes and the clay and could not come out, the officer explained. <br /><br />The bodies were handed over to the families after a post-mortem was conducted at the Dr B R Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital. The boys were residents of R T Nagar. Bagalur police have registered a case. <br /></p>
<p>Waterside picnic turned tragic for two teenage friends as they drowned in Bellahalli lake, off Hebbal, on Saturday morning while their peers watched in horror. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The deceased, Fayyaz, 17, and Sufiyan, 18, were among a group of eight boys which had gone for picnic to make the most of the holiday due to Deepawali. The boys chose Bellahalli lake for its scenic beauty and as it was closer to where they study — Presidency College, Kempapura Main Road. After reaching the waterfront, they ate the breakfast they had brought from home. Then Fayyaz plunged into the water and Sufiyan began clicking his photographs. Fayyaz then went further into the lake to pose for the flashbulb. <br /><br />“But he didn’t know to swim and started drowning. Seeing that, Sufiyan jumped into the water to save him,” Yasin, one of the boys, recounted. “He also disappeared in no time.” <br />Bystanders rushed to the lake as the panicked boys screamed for help. A few men then jumped into the water and fished Fayyaz out. He was dead by then. A while later, the local police and the fire and emergency services personnel also reached the lake. Sufiyan’s body was fished out within an hour. <br /><br />A senior officer with Bagalur police said the lake was not very deep. The lake bed was, however, muddy and the boys got stuck in it. They could not rise up and were thus drowned. As he fell into the water backwards due to the strong current, Fayyaz suffered a head injury as it banged on a stone. Sufiyan got stuck in the bushes and the clay and could not come out, the officer explained. <br /><br />The bodies were handed over to the families after a post-mortem was conducted at the Dr B R Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital. The boys were residents of R T Nagar. Bagalur police have registered a case. <br /></p>
