Seoni: A picnic turned tragic for three teenage boys in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district who drowned while swimming in a river, police said today. The incident occurred at 4 pm on Monday at the Hirri river near Madhya Pradesh’s Jenwara village, an official said.

Police station in-charge Prasann Sharma said the boys, all aged 16 years, had gone to the river for a picnic with another friend. When their friend went to bring breakfast, the three went to the river for a swim, he said. “When their friend returned, he found the three were missing and spotted their clothes on the bank of the river. He alerted villagers and informed family members of the three over the phone,” he said.

Mr Sharma said police personnel fished out the bodies of the boys in an operation that lasted for three hours till 7 PM. The boys are identified as Aryan Shrivastava, Priyanshu Gaur and Vansh Bisen.