A helicopter helping in rescue works at Murud Janjira beach near Alibaug in

district on Monday. (PTI photo)

Search operations underway at Murud Janjira beach near Alibaug in Raigad district on Monday. (PTI photo)

Anxious relatives gather at Pune college. (PTI photo)

(With inputs from Aseem Shaikh, Gitesh Shelke & Shiladitya Pandit in Pune)

Navi Mumbai: Fourteen computer science students of a Pune college, including twin sisters, drowned when they ventured into a treacherous sea off the Murud beach ignoring warnings during a college picnic on Monday.Six others were rescued by the local people. They also assisted the coast guard in recovering the bodies of the victims, all between 19 and 23 years.Among the 14 dead are 10 girls and four boys, including M Saif Ahmad, whose body was found last after two helicopters of the navy and one chopper of the coast guard were pressed into service in the evening.In all, 115 BSc (computer science) students had gone with eight teaching and three non-teaching staff of Abeda Inamdar College of Arts, Science & Commerce in Pune’s Camp area in three private buses for the picnic at Murud, about 44km from Alibaug town in Raigad district.“This is a huge drowning tragedy at Murud beach. The local authorities have put up warning signboards at the beach since there have been drownings here even in the past. The Pune students disregarded the formal warnings to venture into the water a little before 4pm, leading to the deaths,” said a Raigad police spokesperson.The horse tenders and vendors at the beach also tried to stop the youngsters from going into what appears to be “shallow waters”, but they did not listen, a Murud policeman told TOI. “Some of the students who had ventured a little too far from the shore were caught in the receding tidal waters and swept away,” another cop said.“Last year in July, six persons from Chembur had drowned on this same beach while they were here on a picnic. The warning signboards are of no use as the picnickers enter the seawater without realizing how treacherous these parts of the beach are,” said Murud resident Ashok S, who was on the beach during the tragedy.As news of the incident trickled into Pune, many parents turned up at the college. Some began heatedly questioning the college authorities about why the accompanying teaching and non-teaching staff had not dissuaded the students from going into the sea. Tempers ran high, forcing the Camp police to be summoned. ACP Vasant Tambe and a team of around 50 police personnel were deployed at the college campus to keep the peace. Relatives who spoke to reporters alleged that the management had not sent enough teachers to accompany the large group of students.PA Inamdar, president of the Maharashtra Cosmopolitan Education Society that runs the college, said: “The students were being adventurous in entering the water but the presence of lifeguards on the beach could have helped avert the tragedy. We are in touch with the teachers and students and all necessary help has been made available. We have also sent a team of college officials to Murud.”The victims were identified as Rafiya and Shafiya Ansari (the twin sisters), Sumaiya Ansari, Mohammed Ansari, Laxmi Venkatramaniah, Sajeed Chaudhary, Iftekar Shaikh, Samreen Firoz Shaikh, Farin Sayyed, Seefa Kazi, Supriya Swapan, Sana Shaikh, Swapnali Salgar and M Saif Ahmad.Aamir Madki, whose younger brother Saif’s was the last body recovered, could not believe he would not be returning. “Our entire family went to Mumbai today to visit relatives. Only Saif did not go as he wanted to go to the picnic. He was so happy. My parents got a call in the evening and they went to Murud directly from Mumbai,” Aamir told TOI.Yusuf Ansari, whose brother Mohammed was among the dead, said there should have been more teachers to take care of the students. Akil Ansari, Sumaiya’s father, broke down as he asked again and again why the teachers had not warned the students about the dangerous beach.In the evening, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted: “Extremely saddened & shocked to know about the Murud incident, where 14 students lost their lives. My deepest condolences to the families...”