The three, Kanwaljit Singh Arora (19), Manmohan Singh Mansingh (18) and Jogesh Anand (19), were all residents of Sion-Koliwada. The group had left Mumbai at around 9.30 am on Monday by road and had stopped at Bushy Dam at around 4.45 pm. The three youths then ventured into the dam waters and were drowned. Divers from the nearby naval training institute, INS Shivaji, and local police rushed to the spot immediately but could recover only two bodies. The third body of Jogesh was recovered only this morning, though the search had continued late into the night, Lonavla police said. The post-mortem reports state all three died by drowning,police said.

Near the boys' Sion-Koliwada homes, residents thronged the community halls near the gurudwara where the family members were sitting. Manmohan's family was waiting for his sister, settled in Patiala, to arrive for the funeral. His voice breaking, Baljit Singh, Manmohan's elder brother recalled: ``Soon as I got the news in the evening, I rushed to Lonavla... I didn't touch the brakes even once..'' Kanwaljit's mother and sister had also been in the group, he said. Apparently, the trio had ventured into the waters, despite others cautioning them against it. ``Jogesh kept telling them they (the boys) could see the bottom, and then suddenly they slipped,'' Baljit said.

Manmohan, youngest in the family, had been working as a mechanic in his uncle's shop. Kanwaljit had been doing his Std XII privately, while Jogesh was dealing in spare scooter parts.

``We heard about it in the evening, and they only told us the boys were in a serious condition,'' said Jogesh's aunt. Jogesh's elder brother, acollege student, then rushed to Lonavla. For the family, it was a night of trauma, with his body not being found. The body was brought home today and the funeral held. Bushy Dam had been in the news earlier too due to similar accidents reported every year. Police had taken stringent measures two years ago to curb such accidents.

All vehicles coming into the area are checked for liquor, and police had also launched a drive to inform revellers about the dam's dangers. Lonavla police said swimming is banned in the area and boards had been put up. But there are no security officers there to keep a check, police said, adding the dam was almost 60 feet deep.