Four Indian medical students have drowned while swimming in a river in northwest Russia, officials said Friday.

The incident happened on Tuesday in the Volkhov river in the city of Veliky Novgorod, the regional investigative committee said.

"The students were swimming... in an area where bathing is banned," it said. "Two of them started being carried away by the current and two others jumped in to save them. After some time, all four went under water".

The Indian consulate in the city of Saint Petersburg said a fifth student "was saved," adding that they were pursuing medical studies at the university in Veliky Novgorod.

It said their families had been contacted and efforts were on to repatriate their bodies "as soon as possible".

Russian investigators said Friday that two bodies had been recovered so far.

Veliky Novgorod, one of the oldest cities in Russia, is around 150 kilometres (90 miles) south of Saint Petersburg. The Volkhov River flows through the city on the way to vast Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia.