3 days ago
Eight Pune Students Drown at Diveagar Beach Amid Safety Concerns
Eight students from a coaching institute in Pune drowned while visiting Diveagar beach.
They had visited Raigad Fort earlier and then went to the beach.
The institute owner said some students went into deeper water, where a tide and a sudden drop in the seabed pulled people in.
Watersports operators rushed to help, but the students could not be saved.
Police said an initial enquiry indicated that the students who drowned did not know how to swim.
The village sarpanch said the local council had asked authorities to provide a lifeguard and watchtower.
The institute owner said he and other staff were cooperating with police.
Authorities were still investigating the incident.
Eight students from a Pune coaching institute drowned at Diveagar beach in Raigad district.
The institute owner said the students had visited Raigad Fort before spending about an hour at the beach.
A police preliminary enquiry indicated that the students who drowned did not know how to swim; the investigation was ongoing.
Watersports operators rushed to help and recovered the students, but the operators and police said no lifeguard was present.
The Diveagar sarpanch said the village had repeatedly asked the Maharashtra Maritime Board for lifeguard and watchtower funding.
- Who
- Eight students from a Pune coaching institute drowned; the institute owner and watersports operators were among those who tried to help.
- What
- The students drowned while at the beach; post-mortems found drowning to be the cause of death.
- Where
- Diveagar beach, in Raigad district, Maharashtra.
- When
- The incident happened on Thursday; the bodies were recovered around 5:30 pm and the last body left the hospital by 5 am on October 2.
- Why
- The institute owner described a tide and a sudden hole in the water; police said an initial enquiry indicated that the students who drowned did not know how to swim.
Local Council’s Criticism
Coaching Institute’s Account
Responsibility for beach safety
Local Council’s Criticism
Diveagar sarpanch Vijay Todankar blamed the government for neglecting beach safety and said the Gram Panchayat had repeatedly requested a lifeguard.
Coaching Institute’s Account
Institute owner Amar Adak described the incident as a tragedy, said staff and students were caught by a tide and sudden drop, and said the institute was cooperating with police.
Key facts
- Deaths
- Eight students
- Beach
- Diveagar beach, Raigad district
- Rescue
- Watersports operators recovered the students; no lifeguard was present, according to the article.
- Police enquiry
- Preliminary findings indicated that the students who drowned did not know how to swim.
- Trip fee
- Rs 2,000 per student
- Safety requests
- The sarpanch said the Gram Panchayat had repeatedly asked the Maharashtra Maritime Board for a lifeguard and watchtower.
- Investigation status
- Police said the investigation was underway; no crime had been registered against involved parties as of the evening of October 2.
Quotes
Vijay Todankar
Diveagar village sarpanch.
“I had asked students who only knew how to swim to go in, but I don’t know how many of them actually knew swimming. The girls were standing near the shore but the boys went deeper, the water was above waist level. We got pulled away due to the tide and there was a sudden hole on the left side. All of us, including me, fell into that hole. Two other students who could swim well and I saved some boys, but we could not save the others. Then we called the watersport operators.”
indianexpress.com
“We pulled out seven bodies in half an hour. But later they told us another boy is missing. It took longer to find him. We gave them CPR but it was clear to me they were already dead”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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