‘I stayed out of water to avoid tan’: Pune teen who had narrow escape at Diveagar beach

PUNE: Soham Gore, a Std XI student, escaped the Diveagar beach tragedy in which eight students drowned after he chose not to enter the water.“I get tanned easily and I don’t like the way the humidity makes me feel sticky, so I did not enter the water. Otherwise, I could have also drowned,” Soham said on Friday, as he attended the funeral of his close friend Pranav Bansode in Alandi, visibly shaken by the tragedy.“Pranav was very excited about the trip and wanted to see all the places. He was brilliant in studies and wanted to become an engineer. We have been friends since Std VI. I will miss him terribly,” Soham said.Soham was among the 42 students — 25 boys and 17 girls — who had gone on a trip to Raigad district. It was organised by private coaching institute Winners Academy and Study Centre in Alandi.Recounting the terrible day, Soham said the students gathered in the temple town around 3am on Thursday. A private bus carrying the students and teachers — two men and four women — left around 3.30am.“We reached Raigad Fort around 7am. Since the ropeway was closed, we trekked to the fort. We spent a few hours there and visited several historic spots,” he said.After lunch at a private hotel near the foothills of the fort, the group went to Diveagar beach around 4pm.“We were all excited. But I had a bad experience while swimming at a beach earlier as my face had become badly tanned. So, I decided not to enter the water,” Soham said.“Three of my friends also stayed out. We sat on a stone structure near the beach and were enjoying ourselves while the others entered the sea.”Soham said the girls remained closer to the shore while several boys ventured further into the sea. Some teachers also entered the water with the students.“They were happily playing in the water. After about 20 minutes, we suddenly saw the teachers running out and screaming for help,” he said, and added: “Initially, we could not understand what was happening. Then, we became scared and realised that something was seriously wrong.”Local residents and police personnel reached the beach quickly and rescued several people. But they were unable to save eight students, all 16 years old and from Alandi and neighbouring villages.“The bodies were brought out within half an hour. CPR was administered and they were taken to hospital in ambulances. We were taken to a hotel in the bus,” Soham said.Another student, Sarthak Chaudhari, lost his cousin Tanmay Vahile in the tragedy.“Tanmay died in front of my eyes and I could not do anything. I am still in shock. The incident keeps playing on my mind. I cannot forget the fun moments we had together,” he said.Parents who gathered at the Alandi crematorium said several students had been traumatised by the incident and were struggling to cope. Some were crying continuously and some others were not even eating, they said.“Some are in deep shock and are not in a position to narrate the incident,” a parent said.