“Two bodies were found floating in the river and the family members of the boys were called for identification. But Sarfaraz’s body was not among them,” said Shabir Rahman, a close friend of the family.

“The boys’ family spent the entire day with officials of the river traffic department. The search will start again on Wednesday morning,” said his uncle Mustaq Ali.

On Monday afternoon, Sarfaraz and four of his friends decided to go for a swim in the river.

While Faraz and Rohit dived into the river, Sarfraz, a class VII dropout who worked at his father’s meat shop, stood on the bank talking to the other two boys — Nadeem and Irfan.

“Faraz and Rohit did not know swimming and kept close to the bank. While playing in the water they somehow moved farther into the river,” recalled Nadeem, who works in Five Star Market.

Alerted by the cries of Faraz and Rohit, Sarfraz dived into the river.

A good swimmer, Sarfraz reached the spot quickly, grabbed their hands and pushed them to the shore, police said.

“He grabbed them and helped them reach the bank but he got caught in the strong current. We saw him tossing in the water and then disappearing,” said Nadeem.