There was a low tide at the time of the incident. All four arrived at the beach together and were pulled in by the waves. Abhishek managed to swim ashore with help from a lifeguard but his three friends are feared drowned. Three of a group of four students, including a minor, were feared drowned at the Juhu beach on Tuesday afternoon. While one of the students managed to survive with some help from a lifeguard, his three friends got sucked in by the strong current of the waves and efforts were on to trace them at the time of going to
press.
The incident took place sometime between 2.30 pm and 3 pm. The four friends — Aman Singh (21), Kaustubh Gupta (18), Pratham Gupta (16) and Abhishek Sharma (18) — are from Aman Ashiyana society in Chembur Vashi Naka.
All are students, the police said.
The four entered the Juhu beach from a lane near J.W. Marriott and TULIP Hotel on the Juhu Tara road in Santacruz (west).
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The lane is about 500 metres away from the main Juhu beach.
There was a low tide at the time of the incident. All four arrived at the beach together and were pulled in by the waves. Abhishek managed to swim ashore with help from a lifeguard but his three friends are feared drowned.
The Indian Coast guard and fire brigade officials tried to find them with the help of divers and a helicopter but they could not be traced till last reports. The rescue operations will resume early on Wednesday.
A lifeguard requesting anonymity said, “Before the pandemic, the beach was kept closed in the afternoon. But post lockdown, people are allowed to visit the beach even in the afternoon.”
A police officer said, “Many people visit the Juhu beach which makes it difficult for us to stop them from going deep out to the sea.”
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