Eight students from a private coaching institute in Pune drowned after venturing into the sea at Diveagar beach in Raigad district during a picnic on Thursday, with police saying the group had misjudged the tide. The students, who had travelled from Pune in a hired private bus, entered the sea while visiting the beach.

“Preliminary information that we have received is that the group had come for a picnic from Pune. They had hired a bus. On visiting the beach, they had ventured into the sea and had misjudged the tides, due to which they drowned,” the Dighi Sagar police said.

The eight students who lost their lives in the drowning incident at Diveagar beach have been identified as Tanmay Dattatray Wahile, Sumit Bharat Ahire, Pranav Ramdas Bansode, Kaivalya Satish Wasankar, Rajveer Yuvraj Wahile, Yash Kiran Wankhede, Soham Tukaram Bhandwalkar and Kaustubh Sandeep Daund.

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In a press note, the district administration said that a total of 48 students and teachers – 25 boys, 17 girls and six teachers – from Winners Academy in Alandi, Pune, had come to the beach at Dighi Sagari, Diveagar, for a tour.

According to preliminary information, some of the students entered the sea to swim but were swept into deeper waters after apparently misjudging the depth and tide.

After the students were seen drowning, locals and water sports personnel rushed to their aid and launched a rescue operation. Employees of Mahakali Water Sports, along with local residents, entered the sea and began searching for the students, as per local reports.