Three teenage women are seen laughing and taking part in in waterfall earlier than slipping on rocks and drowning in India

Horrifying footage shows the moment three Indian teenagers slipped from rocks at a waterfall and drowned.

The girls, all believed to be between 16 and 17 years old, were playing and laughing while being filmed from the bank when they lost their footing and drifted into deeper water. 

The tragedy happened on Thursday at the Mulagummi waterfall, a forested area close to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state, India Today reported. 

The deceased were named in the Indian press as Trisha, 17, Ratna Kumari, 16, and Pavitra, 16.

There were also reports of a forth girl being rescued, but she does not appear to feature in the clip made available online. 

The footage, posted on social media, shows the girls paddling and affectionately wrestling one another close to the water’s edge.

One of the girls, dressed in pink, loses her footing on the slippy rocks and falls backwards into deeper water.

Another of the teens, wearing black, is able to clamber back on to the rocks – laughing for the camera, unaware of her friends floundering in the water behind her. 

She then turns around to see both of the other girls in danger and wades back in to attempt to retrieve them.

All three teens’ heads slip beneath the surface as the person filming the scene places her phone down and can be heard screaming for help. 

None of the three girls were able to swim, local officials said. 

Locals rushed to save the young women but they were swept away by the current, NDTV reported. 

Their bodies were taken away by police for a postmodern and an inquiry is said to be underway.  

The four girls were all from Jambuvalasa village in Hukumpeta and had gone on an outing to take pictures at the waterfall, according to Indian media. 

Andhra Pradesh police have been contacted for comment.