Latur  (PTI): Three boys drowned while swimming in a weir at a village in Maharashtra's Latur district on Friday, an official said.

The incident took place at Lali (Khurd) village of Jalkot tehsil around 7.30 am, when four boys, two of them brothers, arrived at the weir built on Tiru river, tehsildar Surekha Swami said.

Sangameshwar Bandu Telange (13), his brother Shyam alias Chima (15) and their cousins Eknath (15) and Vishnukant (18) went for a swim when one of the younger boys started to drown, she said.

Sangameshwar jumped into water but could not swim and started drowning. Brothers Shyam and Eknath tried to rescue him, but all three drowned in the process, the official said.

The older boy started shouting for help and informed the villagers, following which the police and fire brigade were pressed into service and the bodies were fished out, she added.