Punjab sportsman drowns at Ganjem, another from Maharashtra missing

Ponda: Of the seven sportspersons camping at SAI sports complex at Curti, here, one drowned and another is missing after they went for swim in the Mhadei, near a bandhara in Ganjem village of Ponda taluka on Sunday afternoon.

Lavpreet Singh, 24, from Patiala, Punjab, drowned and his body was retrieved at around 7.30pm following joint efforts of local youths and divers of the fire and emergency services department, said Ponda police.Dhananjay Khairnath, 18, a resident of Dhule, Maharashtra, is feared drowned. Efforts were on until late to trace him, local authorities said.All the seven had gone for a swim in the river around 7km away from their camping site when the incident occurred.While two sportspersons were rescued by the locals after they noticed one struggling to remain afloat, two had gone missing.Locals informed Ponda police after the duo were not to be seen. Police launched a search operation with the help of locals and fire and emergency services personnel.Police said search operation will continue on Monday morning if Khairnath is not found.