Two youths drowned in Vellayani Lake while swimming on Sunday evening. The dead have been identified as Shambhu, 15, and Vishnu, 24, both from Naruvamoodu, near Pravachambalam. The Nemom police said the incident occurred around 4.15 p.m. The youth along with four others had reached the banks of the lake at Kulangara, near Kakkamoola, for a bath. They were trapped in deep pits that had formed owing to sand-mining. The bodies were retrieved after an hour. Shambhu and Vishnu were declared dead on arrival at Governmenrt Medical College Hospital, the police said.