Grief grips Alandi after eight students drown at Maharashtra’s Diveagar

Pune: A wave of shock and disbelief swept through Alandi near Pune as residents gathered to bid farewell to the eight students who drowned in the sea during a picnic to Diveagar in Maharashtra's Raigad district.

The eight boys, all aged 16, were part of a group from local coaching institute 'Winners Academy' that had gone to the popular beach for a picnic.

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The bodies of the students, who were in Class XI and XII, were brought to Alandi on Friday morning amid a large gathering of grieving relatives, friends, and residents.

"The tragedy has left us all in shock. Residents and traders have given a call for a bandh in Alandi on Friday to mourn the deaths of the students," said a local resident.

The last rites of four of them -- Rajveer Vahile, Soham Bhandwalkar, Sumit Ahire, and Tanmay Vahile -- were performed at a crematorium in the town in the morning.

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While two more students will be cremated in Alandi, the bodies of Kaustubh Daund and Yash Wankhede will be taken to Rahuri in Ahilyanagar district and Amaravati, respectively, for the last rites, family sources said.

According to police, a group of 48 -- 25 boys, 17 girls and six teachers -- had gone for a picnic to Diveagar, a tourist town famous for its beach and historic temples, on Thursday.

Eight boys ventured into the sea and were swept away after misjudging the depth of the water and current, they said. Search and rescue teams rushed to the spot following an alert and recovered the bodies.