Raigad/Pune, Oct 1 — Political leaders across all parties in Maharashtra expressed their condolences after a celebratory educational outing turned into a devastating tragedy on Thursday when eight 16-year-old students drowned while swimming in the Arabian Sea off Diveagar beach in Maharashtra's Raigad district.
The victims were part of a 48-member tour group from Winners Academy for Class 11 and 12, a private coaching institute based in Alandi of Pune district.
The excursion comprised 25 male students, 17 female students, and 6 faculty members.
According to police sources, the group reached the Dighi-Sagari coastline near Diveagar around Thursday noon.
A section of the male students entered the water to swim but misjudged the undercurrents, rising tide, and sudden depth of the coastal waters.
Eight teenagers were quickly swept away into deep water by strong sea currents.
Local fishermen, emergency rescue teams, and Dighi coastal police immediately initiated a search operation.
All eight bodies were retrieved from the sea and transported to a regional primary healthcare facility for post-mortem examinations.
The victims, all aged 16 years and residents of Alandi (Pune), have been identified as Rajveer Yuvraj Vahile, Tanmay Dattatray Vahile, Soham Tukaram Bhandvalkar, Kaustubh Sandeep Daund, Yash Kiran Wankhede, Kaivalya Satish Wasankar, Sumit Bharat Ahire and Pranav Ramdas Bansode.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief in his post on social media platform X and said: "The incident of 8 students from Winners Academy in Alandi, drowning to death at the Dighi Port in Diveagar beach in Raigad district, who had come for tourism, is extremely tragic and heart-wrenching. I pay my heartfelt tribute to them. We share in the grief of all these families. All these students are from Alandi, and the local administration is coordinating to bring their bodies to Alandi."
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in his condolence message said, "The incident of eight students from Winners Academy in Alandi, who had come to the Dighi Port and Diveagar in Raigad district for tourism on the seashore, drowning to death is extremely heartbreaking and unfortunate. We offer our heartfelt tribute to the unfortunate students who met with this tragic end, and all of us share in the grief of their families."
Upon receiving news of the incident, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar contacted the Raigad District Collector Kishan Narayanrao Jawale to coordinate emergency operations, direct medical support for surviving students, and speed up administrative procedures.
Expressing profound grief over the loss, Sunetra Pawar instructed local authorities to offer immediate relief to the bereaved families.
Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sunil Tatkare also expressed grief, emphasising ongoing efforts to secure the Diveagar coastline against such accidents in the future and praying for strength for the bereaved families.
State Minister Aditi Tatkare confirmed that local rescue units guided tourists on-site, but the strong tide proved fatal before intervention was possible. She assured that state officials remain in direct contact with the victims' families.
Police proceedings are underway under the jurisdiction of the Dighi Sagari police station to determine if safety or supervision lapses contributed to the incident.
A dense shockwave of grief has enveloped the town of Alandi as families await the return of their children's mortal remains.