Palghar, Apr 20 (PTI) Two persons drowned in separate incidents while enjoying a swim with their friends in a dam and a canal in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, police said on Sunday.

A 24-year-old man, identified as Abhishek Birhade, went for a swim with his friends in the Surya dam at Maswan village in Palghar taluka on Saturday afternoon, an official from police control room said.

He ventured into the deep water and drowned, the official said.

Later, a search operation was launched and the body was recovered in the evening and sent for post-mortem.

In another incident, Sagar Marde (18), a student from Sarni village in Dahanu taluka, was swept away by strong currents while swimming in a local irrigation canal on Saturday, the official said.

After a hectic search, the body was found about 100 metres downstream from where he went missing, the official added.

The police have registered accidental death reports in both the incidents.

They have appealed to the public to exercise extreme caution at water bodies, especially during the summer months when swimming in open waters becomes more common.

The authorities were also enquiring whether any safety measures or warnings were in place at these locations. PTI COR GK