Chandigarh, March 21 (IANS) Three youths from this union territory drowned in a Himachal Pradesh rivulet while on a trip, police said Sunday.

The deceased, wards of serving defence officials, were staying in a hostel at 3 Base Repair Depot (BRD) of the Indian Air Force here. The hostel is meant for the children of defence officials serving at other stations.

'Four youths had taken the gate pass on the pretext that they were going to visit Rock Garden (a tourist destination in Chandigarh) but they went to Chakki Ka Mod in Himachal Pradesh,' Pardeep Das Gupta, defence spokesperson, told IANS.

'We got the report that one of them slipped into a rivulet and was swept away by the strong current. Remaining three also jumped into the water to save him, but two of them also drowned,' he said.

The victims, who were in early twenties, were identified as Pankaj, Naveen and Ankur while Vikas, in the same age group, managed to save himself. All four were identified by their first names only.

Chakki Ka Mod, 35 km from here, in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh is a tourist spot.