13 college students drown during beach picnic

olamide oni

February 2, 2016 3:31 PM

10 girls and three boys lost their lives in the incident, which happened on Monday, February 1.

The beach

13 students from the Abeda Inamdar Senior College in India have reportedly drowned during picnic to Murud breach in Raigad district, Indianexpress reports.

The students were aged between 18 and 20 and were studying Computer Science.

The group, comprising 112 students, eight teachers and three non-teaching staff, left the college in three buses at 7 am for their annual excursion.

In the afternoon, while some students were having lunch, others went for a swim. But the tide pulled them into the sea, witnesses said. Locals and fishermen rushed to their help, and the Raigad police and district administration soon joined rescue operations. Rescuers managed to save some students, but 13 drowned, while one boy is missing, said Prashant Burde, Inspector General of Police for Konkan Range.

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Parvez Shaikh, who lost his sibling Akhtar Shaikh in the tragedy, said his younger brother had “died a hero”. “I spoke to one of the girls who survived. She told me Akhtar saved her life… and he again went into the water to save others students, but did not return,” said Parvez.

A senior government official, meanwhile, said a board was present at the beach warning people not to enter the sea.

Asked what the teachers who accompanied the students were doing, he said, “They were supposed to take care of them, but it could be possible that the student did not listen to the teachers. Youths often defy the orders of elders.”

olamide oni