Eight students of a private coaching institute from the city of Pune drowned when swept away into deeper sea in Raigad district of Maharashtra’s Diveagar beach Thursday afternoon, police said.
The students were all members of a team of 48 students from Alandi based, Winners Academy for Class 11 and 12 students. There were 25 boys, 17 girls and 6 teachers from the group who came in as part of a school excursion.
The group was on a tour at the beach under Dighi Marine police station’s jurisdiction.
Eight boys swam for a sunny day in the sea but got caught in strong under current and swept into deeper water, police said. Immediately after the search and rescue operation began, mobilizing local residents and rescuers to search for the victim.
Some seven have been found in the searches, and one student still hasn’t been found for awhile. Rescue efforts and neighbourhood residents kept looking for the missing persons.
Meanwhile, the body of the eighth student was being found by evening and by that time, there were eight cases of death.
Then the rescued students were rushed to the primary health centre at Borli for medical treatment. All the eight students were pronounced dead however, by doctors.
A senior police officer confirmed that eight students were rescued from the sea and brought to the health facility, after their families had pulled them out of the water.
The incident took place at a time it was expected that students would be heading out on an educational trip. Authorities will investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident and the precautions that were taken for the safety of the group when they were at the beach.
The event has brought into focus the dangers of swimmers entering the sea during strong floods especially at beaches where the conditions are liable to change quickly.