Twin brothers, both Class XII students of an English medium school in Bolpur, drowned in the Kopai river in Birbhum’s Santiniketan while they were bathing on Wednesday, along with four friends.

Police fished out the bodies of the 17-year-old twins — Sayak Pal and Soham Pal.

They were studying in Class XII at a higher secondary school and their father is a high school teacher.

According to eyewitnesses, all the six were swimming for hours in the river and suddenly, Soham fell into a deep ditch near a concrete bridge and drowned. As soon as he drowned, his brotherSayak jumped in in a bid to save him.

“The friends were helpless and were trying to flee from the spot after the two brothers drowned,” said an eyewitness.

A police officer said the four friends had been detained for interrogation to know why they did not inform local people when one of the brothers had drowned.

“They came out of their house in the name of attending school. But they reached Kopai after bunking classes,” said a police officer.

The angry local people manhandled the four friends for leaving the spot but the police saved them.

Shocked by the tragedy, inconsolable family members of the two boys did not speak to media persons.