Thousands of people have been flocking to a beach in India's financial hub in a manic diamond rush, but police said on Wednesday the stones were fakes and warned them to stay away after one treasure hunter was drowned.
Beggars, hawkers, street children and even housewives and tourists have been arriving at Bombay's Juhu beach, scouring the sands for glittering stones for the past three days.
The treasure seekers are on all fours on the sand from early in the morning, witnesses and police said, sifting through the gravel looking for precious stones. Many even continue their search into the night, searching by torchlight.
"We heard people found diamonds on the beach," said Dhruv, a 15-year-old boy who sells newspapers on Bombay's commuter trains. "So I came here with my friends and we have found more than fifty diamonds which we managed to sell."