Three tourists from Maharashtra drown in Goa

Panaji: Three tourists, including a police constable and his brother, from Akola in Maharashtra drowned in the Arabian Sea at the famous Calangute beach near here this morning, the police said. A group of 14 tourists from Akola arrived in Goa today by a train around 4 am, Calangute police inspector Jivba Dalvi said.

Immediately after coming to Goa, all of them ventured into the sea at the Calangute beach in North Goa district – located about 9 km from here – at 6 am, though there were specific signages put up along the shoreline advising people against swimming in choppy waters, Dalvi said.

Five of the tourists got swept away into the waters due to the strong undercurrents. Of them, three drowned while two others managed to swim to the shore, the police said quoting statements of the eyewitnesses. The three victims were later pulled out from the sea by locals present on the shore.

They were rushed to a primary health centre at Candolim where they were declared dead, the police said. The deceased were identified as Pritesh Lankeshwar Nanda Gawli (32), his brother Chetan Lankeshwar Nanda Gawli (27) and Ujwal Vakode, who was also part of the group, Dalvi said.

Pritesh Gawli served as a constable in the Maharashtra police force, he said, adding that bodies would be handed over to relatives after completion of the due formalities. The Goa government had last month issued an advisory asking tourists to refrain from swimming in sea waters along beaches for four months starting from June 1.

The state government shuts down beaches for swimming and other water sports activities during the monsoon from June to August each year as a precautionary step. This includes a 61-day fishing ban that started from June 1 and ends on July 31.

A firm appointed by the Goa government to provide lifeguards at beaches had recently said that red flags will be put up at beaches in the state to warn people about dangers of wading or swimming in the sea during the monsoon.