Rourkela, May 7: Three youths, one of them from Mumbai, drowned near the Tarkera dam on the Brahmani river this morning.

The deceased have been identified as P. Shyam Babu, 22, P. Sarat Babu, 24, and Pankaj Tambe, 20, from Wadala, Mumbai.

Tambe was in the city to attend the marriage ceremony of Shyam's elder brother and supposed to return to Mumbai this evening.

A group of eight youths, including the deceased, had informed their family members that they were going to visit the Hanuman Vatika in the city. However, they reached the dam around 11am.

Though a signage was put up indicating a particular area as dangerous and not fit for bathing, Shyam and Tambe did not pay heed to the warning and entered the prohibited zone.

An eyewitness said that within minutes, the duo were swept away by the current. In order to rescue them, Sarat jumped into the water and all of them drowned. "I had warned them. But they didn't listen to us," said a local resident, who happened to be there at the time of the mishap.

"Their other friends couldn't do anything to help them," said another resident, who didn't wish to be named.

After the incident, the onlookers informed Raghunathpalli police station. Fire brigade was pressed into service and the bodies were fished out. Given the topography of the area, the Brahmani, which originates from Vedvyas, has many rocky elevations on its bed. Panposh deputy superintendent of police Tushar Jena said: "By the time fire brigade reached, everything was over."