Raigad (Maharashtra), June 21 (IANS): Four students of the Rizvi College in Mumbai's Bandra drowned while on a monsoon picnic at a waterfall adjacent to a dam in Maharashtra's Raigad district on Friday afternoon, police said.

The four students were part of a group of 37 other boys and girls from Mumbai who had gone to the picturesque Saibaba Dam with a waterfall, near the Pokharwadi village.

The victims were identified as Akash Mane, 20, Ranjit Banda, 18, Eklavya Singh, 18, and Ishant Yadav, 19.

The tragedy occurred when the group, including 17 girls, were returning after a monsoon trekking expedition to the nearby Sondai Fort and decided to take a dip in the dam waters, around 3 p.m.

As they entered the water, one of them started drowning and shouted for help, and when the other three jumped to save him, they also were pulled into the water. As per preliminary information by the police and local eyewitnesses, they apparently misjudged the depth of the waters and may have been stuck in the mud on the dam floor, leading to their drowning.

The other students informed the Khalapur police which rushed a team and with help from the villagers, the bodies of the victims were taken out and taken to a nearby health centre for an autopsy.

The stunned families of the victims also reached the spot and were being consoled by the other students as they awaited the completion of the police formalities before claiming the bodies.