Guwahati, Aug. 11: A young couple were feared drowned in the Brahmaputra today when they were on a trip to the Umananda temple.

A source in the river police said the victims have been identified as Niraj Thapa, 17, and Rubina Deka, 17.

Niraj is a higher secondary first year student of B. Borooah College while Rubina is standard XI student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Borjhar.

Though Rubina was from Rangia in Kamrup district, she was staying at a private hostel in the VIP area. Niraj was a resident of Dekapara in the Azara police station area.

A police source said preliminary investigations have revealed that the two had gone to the island along with three of their friends — Kuldip Das, 17, Vicky Chetri, 18, and Amit Boro, 17, — this morning.

“According to the trio, the couple were chatting while sitting on a rock on the riverbank at some distance from them,” the police source said.

“Rubina somehow slipped and fell into the river. Niraj also fell while trying to pull her out and both were swept away by the strong currents of the Brahmaputra. The three others said everything happened within a fraction of a second before anybody could react,” he said.

The incident happened around 12.30pm.

The police have detained the trio for further questioning.

The river police personnel and divers of National Disaster Response Force of the BSF have launched a search operation but the duo had not been rescued and no bodies recovered either.

“The rescue operation was called off for today because of darkness and it will resume tomorrow morning,” the source said.

He, however, said the chances of rescuing them alive seem to be remote.

“Prima facie, it appears to be an accident and not a case of suicide,” the source said.