2 dead and one missing as 5 drowned off Mumbai coast – Hindustan Times

Two people were declared dead on Monday and one is still missing after five people drowned off western coast at Versova beach on Sunday evening. Of the five, two were rescued and are undergoing treatment at civic-run Cooper Hospital and one is still missing.

Shubham Nirmal, 18, had ventured into the sea around 8.30pm on Sunday with his brother Shivam and friends Sanjay Tawde, 20; Vijay Marathe, 16; and Vijay Patil, 18, to immerse an idol brought by Tawde, said officials. All five of them drowned, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s disaster management cell.

Marathe and Shivam were rescued by locals and were taken to the hospital.

According to officials from the disaster management cell, a search and rescue team along with divers of the Indian Coast Guard were called in for search operations. Additionally, flood lights and boats of coastal police were being used for the operation.

Nirmal’s body was found at 10.30am, a few hundred metres away from the spot where he had drowned. Tawde’s body was also found near the spot. Meanwhile, Patil was still missing on Monday evening.

“The spot where the incident occurred is not an immersion point, otherwise security personnel would have been there,” said an official. Officials said all men were residents of Kasam Nagar, a chawl off Veera Desai Road near Andheri RTO. “They probably did not know how to swim,” police officials said.

Meanwhile, Prabhat Rahangdale, deputy municipal commissioner of BMC’s disaster management cell, said, “None of the five who drowned were on official duty for immersion of Ganesh idols. We are taking help from the Indian Coast Guard for search operations of the one missing person.”