MUMBAI: Fourteen undergraduate students drowned in the sea at Murud-Janjira, a popular tourist place in Maharashtra’s Raigad district on Monday. One student is reported missing.
According to sources, a group of 126 students of Abeda Inamdar College in Pune had gone for a picnic at Murud-Janjira along with 13 teachers. Of them, 18 ventured out into the sea during high tide and drowned as they failed to gauge the water flow. Dilip Yadav, Tehsildar of Murud, said that 10 girls and four boys, most of them from the Muslim community, were found dead in the sea. The local residents saved five students, who were treated at a local hospital. “The incident occurred late in the afternoon when the students recklessly entered the waters. We have launched a rescue operation and searching whether anyone is missing,” Yadav said.
The Navy has also deployed two helicopters to search for the missing students. President of the educational institution P A Inamdar told reporters that the students were from second and third year of Computer Science and Computer Applications. “The picnic was sponsored by the college. We are shocked by the tragedy. We are making all efforts to help the students and their families with the help of the villagers. We have sent a team of trustees to Raigad to assist the authorities in the rescue operation,” he said.