8 students drown while on picnic in Maharashtra

Vayri (Maharashtra), April 15 

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Eight students of an engineering college in Karnataka were drowned in the Arabian Sea off the Vayri coast in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district today. They were on a picnic.

 The deceased, five of them boys, were part of a group of 47 students. Thirty went for swimming in the sea, reportedly ignoring warnings on strong currents. The tragedy occurred at Vayri, a picturesque coastal hamlet near Malvan in the Konkan region.

“It was high tide and some students ventured into deep waters. Some began drowning, some rushed to save them, but it was too late,” the police said. 

The victims were identified as Mahesh, Karuna Barde, Aarti Chavan, Maya Kolhe, Kiran Khandekar, Nitin Mutlatkar, Avdhut Tahsildar and Mujamin Aniket. Another student, Akanksha Ghadge, is critical. Two others were discharged after first-aid. 

In February last year, 13  Pune college students had drowned off the Murud beach near Mumbai. — Agencies