Three boys drowned in the Hennagara lake in Anekal near here on Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as Ganesh (8), Chetan (8) and Santhosh (11), residents of Rajapura in Anekal.
While Chetan was a student of a government school in Jigani, Santhosh was a student of Vivekanada School in Chandapura and Ganesh a student of Vrindavan School. They all were said to be studying in Class 5, the police said.
According to the Jigani police, the incident came to light around 4.30 p.m. when Chandan, who did not venture into the lake, rushed home and informed his parents about his friends drowning. The parents, in turn, informed the police, who, along with fire personnel, set on a search operation for two hours before recovering the bodies.
The police said that the bodies were stuck in the silt and bushes, which had grown in the lake bed.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the four friends had left for Hennagara lake around 3 p.m. from their homes to try their hands at swimming.
While Chandan preferred to stay away, his three friends ventured into the lake.
Soon after, the trio began to struggle and drowned subsequently, the police said.