4 youngsters on picnic drown near Mumbai beach; 1 body recovered

Three of four victims who drowned off Kelwe beach, Palghar, were in their teens; local fishermen are trying to locate three bodies.

Four youngsters of a group drowned after they entered the choppy waters off Kelwe beach in Palghar on Sunday.

Local fishermen dived into the waters and managed to bring Deepak to the shore but he died of asphyxiation. (HT PHOTO)

Local fishermen have recovered the body of Deepak Parshuram Chalwadi, 20. In the absence of disaster management personnel, fishermen have taken upon themselves to winch out the bodies of Dipesh Pednekar, 17, Shritej Chipte, 15, and Tushar Chipte, 16.

While Deepak worked in a diamond polishing unit in Andheri, Dipesh cleared his Class 12 exams last year. Shritej and Tushar were studying in Class 10.

The group, comprising seven youth from Nallasopara (East), arrived at the beach from Nallasopara (East) at 9am.

According to According to Sanket Jogale, 17, who was part of the group, they consumed liquor, had lunch at the beach and took pictures of the scenic beach.

“Despite our warnings, Tushar, Shritej and Deepak entered the waters during high tide. While they were drowning, Dipesh unsuccessfully tried to rescue them,” said Sanket.

While the four were being pulled in by strong currents, local fishermen dived into the waters and managed to bring Deepak to the shore. They took him to the Mahim primary health care centre (PHC) where he was declared dead due to asphyxia.

According to local residents, the Kelwe beach has recorded 45 drownings in the past 15 years. There are two lifeguards on the eastern side of the beach, while the accident spot was not manned.