PUNE/NAVI MUMBAI: A day after eight students from a coaching institute in Alandi on the outskirts of Pune drowned in Raigad district while on a study tour, police said that the students had ventured into sea water that was only chest-deep, but were pulled in by strong currents, leading to their death.
The Raigad police subsequently registered an accidental death report and are probing the circumstances leading to the students’ death, including the contours of the beach, sea conditions and if adequate safety measures were in place. But the current pulled them into deeper waters, and only nine students were able to swim back to the shore while the remaining eight students who likely did not know how to swim drowned. The police are also examining if there was any negligence or failure of duty on the part of Winners Academy, which had organised the study trip. “This is a sad and unfortunate incident. The institute can’t be solely blamed for the accident as the intention was to provide some relaxation to the students. The institute provides quality education at nominal charges.
17 students had entered the sea on Thursday evening, intending to remain only in chest-deep water, according to a preliminary inquiry conducted by the police. Raigad Superintendent of Police (SP) Anchal Dalal said Diveagar beach, where the incident occurred, was relatively safer than other beaches in Raigad such as Kashid where the depth near the shoreline increases very rapidly due to steep sand drops and underwater currents are strong.
A special inquiry committee constituted in light of the incident would conduct a detailed inspection of all private coaching classes and educational institutions in the city, Khandekar said. If it is shut, hundreds of students will suffer,” he said. BS Narke, senior inspector at Alandi police station, said that the parents of the deceased students had not yet filed a complaint.
