06 October,2014 06:50 AM IST | | Shirish Vaktania
The group had allegedly consumed alcohol before entering the waters; the guards had warned them against doing so, but the men convinced them that they wouldn’t go in too deep
Aksa Beach nearly claimed more lives yesterday, when seven men who had entered the waters almost drowned. Luckily, a team of seven lifeguards was on hand to save the men. All seven youths are out of danger. The Malwani police let off the group with a stern warning.
Lifeguards rescuing one of the youths. The group was allegedly drunk and promised the lifeguards they wouldn't go too deep into the waters
The victims have been identified as Sanjay Bell (21), Lalit Sharma (25), Jagdish Swami (24), Ravishankar Danish (29), Anuman Singh (21), Rajkumar Rai (22) and Sumit Sharma (22). All are residents of Mansarovar building at J P Road, in Bhayandar (East) and work in a private firm in Goregaon (West) as housekeeping staff.
Police said the group had gone for a day picnic to the Malad beach during the long weekend. After playing cricket on the beach in the afternoon, the youth allegedly drank the alcohol they had brought with them. After consuming the alcohol, the group wanted to enter the waters for a swim.
But, the lifeguards present there refused them permission to do so. The group implored the guards, assuring them that they wouldn't venture too deep inside. The guards relented but around 4 pm, they saw the seven men struggling to stay above water.
Miraculous rescue
A team of seven lifeguards Sachin Maulik, Pravin Chavan, Jayesh Koli, Pritam Koli, Nathuram Suryawanshi and Samir Koli and senior lifeguard Rajnikant Mashalkar rescued the drowning men.
They also administered first-aid on the beach and later took them to Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivli. One of them, Bell, was suffering from vomiting; but he soon recovered. All seven were discharged in the evening yesterday.
Senior inspector Prakash Patil of Malwani police station said, "All of the youths are safe and they are out of danger. We let them off with a warning." Aksa Beach is notorious for drowning incidents; it is considered unsafe due to shifting tidal currents and turns even more dangerous during monsoon.
