8 Students From Pune Drown At Diveagar Beach
Eight Pune students drowned at Diveagar beach in Raigad while on a coaching institute trip. All eight bodies were recovered, officials said.
Eight students from a private coaching institute in Alandi, Pune, drowned at Diveagar beach in Raigad district on Wednesday evening, the State Disaster Management Unit (DMU) said.
Officials said the students were part of a group that had travelled from Alandi to Diveagar on a trip. The students entered the sea to swim but apparently misjudged the water conditions and were swept into deeper waters at around 5.15 pm.
An official from the Raigad district disaster management unit said all eight bodies had been recovered. The deceased were identified as Yash Kiran Wankhede, Soham Tukaram Bhandavalkar, Tanmay Dattatray Wahile, Kaustubh Sandeep Daund, Kaivalya Wasankar, Rajveer Wahile, Pranav Bansode and Sumit Ahire.
“When the students entered the sea, it was low tide, but they could not gauge the strength of the water current and the conditions,” the official said.
The students were studying in Classes 11 and 12 at four to five colleges in Pune and were receiving coaching at Winners Academy in Alandi, officials said. The coaching institute had organised the trip to Diveagar.
According to officials, 48 people, including students and teachers, had travelled to Diveagar as part of the trip. Personnel from the police, revenue and health departments reached the spot following the incident. Local residents and employees of Mahakali Water Sports also assisted in the recovery operation.
The bodies were subsequently taken to the Sub-District Hospital in Shriwardhan, Raigad, for post-mortem examinations, officials said.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar took note of the incident and spoke to the Raigad district collector over the phone to obtain details. She directed the administration to closely monitor the situation and ensure that rescue and relief operations, as well as all necessary assistance to the affected families, were provided promptly.
Ms Pawar expressed condolences to the families of the students and directed the district administration to take all necessary measures without delay.