01 October,2026 09:25 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
All eight students were from Alandi. Representational Pic/File
Eight students drowned at Diveagar beach in Maharashtra's Raigad district on Thursday after they were swept away by the sea, police said. All eight bodies have been recovered.
The students, studying in Classes XI and XII, were part of a group from the private coaching institute Winners Academy in Alandi, Pune district, reported the PTI.
According to police, a group of 48 people, including 25 boys, 17 girls and six teachers, had gone to Diveagar beach for a picnic.
Diveagar beach is located around 170 km from Mumbai and falls under the jurisdiction of the Dighi coastal police.
Eight students entered the sea and were swept away after they misjudged the depth of the water and the strength of the current, a police official said, the news agency reported.
The deceased have been identified as Yash Kiran Wankhede, Soham Tukaram Bhandwalkar, Tanmay Dattatray Vahile, Kaustubh Sandeep Daund, Kaivalya Vasankar, Rajveer Vahile, Pranav Bansode and Sumit Ahire.
After receiving information about the incident, search and rescue teams rushed to the spot.
The bodies of all eight students were subsequently recovered, police said.
Police personnel and local authorities remained at the site to carry out further legal and administrative proceedings.
Authorities are continuing the necessary procedures following the incident.
A probe into the incident has been launched by the police, officials said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the deaths of students from Winners Academy in Alandi who drowned while visiting Diveagar beach in Raigad district.
In a post on X, CM Fadnavis described the incident as "extremely sad and painful" and offered his condolences to the families of the deceased.
He said all eight students were from Alandi and that the local administration was coordinating arrangements to take their mortal remains to Alandi.
Maharashtra Minister of Water Resources and Disaster Management, Girish Mahajan also expressed grief over the deaths of the eight students and said he had contacted the local administration after receiving information about the incident.
In a post on X, Mahajan said that preliminary information indicated that 42 students and two teachers from a private coaching class in Alandi had travelled to Diveagar for a trip. He said the students entered the sea but were unable to judge the depth of the water, leading to the tragedy.
Mahajan said all eight bodies had been recovered and that the necessary medical procedures were under way. He offered condolences to the families of the deceased students.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Ministers Sunetra Pawar and Eknath Shinde also expressed grief over the deaths of eight students.
Sunetra Pawar wrote on X, saying that she spoke to the Raigad district collector, superintendent of police and Pune district collector after learning about the incident. She said she had directed the administration to carry out rescue and relief work and take all necessary steps.
Shinde described the incident as extremely tragic and unfortunate. He offered his condolences to the families of the deceased.
(with PTI and ANI inputs)
