8 Students Drown During Picnic In Maharashtra’s Raigad; 2 Teens Die While Shooting Reels

Eight Class XI and XII students drowned during a picnic at a beach in Maharashtra’s Raigad district on Thursday, police said.

The students were part of a 48-member group from Winners Academy, a private coaching institute in Alandi, Pune district. The group comprised 25 boys, 17 girls and six teachers.

According to police, the eight students entered the sea but were swept away after misjudging the depth of the water and the strength of the current.

Search and rescue teams were immediately deployed after authorities received an alert. The bodies of all eight students were eventually recovered.

“By the evening, even the missing student’s body was found. Local residents and rescue workers pulled all eight boys out and rushed them to the primary health centre at Borli for treatment, where they were declared dead,” a senior police officer said.

Police and local authorities are conducting further legal and administrative formalities.

2 Teens Drown In Palghar While Shooting Reels

In a separate incident earlier this month, two teenage boys drowned in Maharashtra’s Palghar district while shooting social media reels during the Ganeshotsav holidays.

The two boys, who were school friends and neighbours from Vivek Nagar in Wada, had gone out with a third friend to make reels on September 16. They reportedly entered the flowing waters of a river after travelling to an area near Umrothe village.

According to police, the trio initially visited Tilseshwar locality near Wada along the Vaitarna River in the morning and recorded several videos before returning home.

Around 3 pm, they went out again to shoot more reels and travelled to Nadipada near Umrothe village, along the Pinjal River.

At around 4 pm, while their friend Amey Jadhav was recording them on his mobile phone, Gitesh Patil reportedly jumped into the river, followed by Manav Rathod.

The two teenagers misjudged the depth and flow of the water and drowned, police said.