Ranchi, June 20: Two Class XII students of Jawahar Vidya Mandir (JVM), Shyamali, drowned in the Dhurwa dam this morning. The spot is 12km from the district police headquarters, under Dhurwa police station area.

The deceased were identified as Amartya Haldar, whose father Amit Kumar Haldar is an assistant general manager with Mecon. The other victim was Arush Kumar, son of Central Coalfields Limited superintendent Sudhir Kumar.

One more boy, Kendriya Vidyalaya student Anurag Singh, who had gone along with Amartya and Arush, was present at the spot when the accident took place, but was safe.

A police official said trouble started when Amartya, who could not swim, slipped into the water and Arush, who also could not swim, tried to save him from drowning.

“Anurag might have died too if he got into the water. It was he who raised an alarm and called villagers for help,” a police officer said.

Deputy superintendent of police (Hatia) Rajiv Ranjan confirmed the incident and said the bodies were fished out with the help of villagers and sent for post-mortem at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS). A case of unnatural death has been registered at Dhurwa police station and the exact reason behind the accident was being ascertained, he added.

Sources said both students had left their homes in Doranda police station area around 8am to attend special classes that had been organised by the school. After attending the class, they decided to take head for the dam. The accident took place around 11.30am.

The family members of the two victims were in no position to speak. Neighbours said the parents were inconsolable and had been sedated. Amartya was only son of his parents.

The JVM school authorities have decided to keep the school closed tomorrow as a mark of respect to the students.