Mumbai, Jul 16 (Mumbai Mirror): Class XII students were so engrossed in the adventure that they failed to notice the alarming rise in water levels; rescued by fire brigade, fishermen.
Three college students were rescued by the fire brigade and local fishermen after they were stranded amid an angry sea at Uttan’s Velankanni Beach on Sunday. The boys were reportedly so engrossed in clicking selfies against the tall waves that they failed to notice the alarming rise in water levels around them. Luckily, help arrived, and they were brought back to the shore safely.
Vishal Minde, 19, Sachin Waghmare,16, and Sumit Katpara, 18, residents of Bhayandar East, had gone to the popular beach located ahead of Gorai for a picnic on Sunday morning at around 11 am.
According to the locals, the trio ventured quite deep towards the sea and began taking selfies while perched on some rocks. They were so enthralled by the crashing waves that they forgot to notice that the water around them had risen to alarming levels due to the high tide and within half an hour the rock they were sitting on had almost gone under.
Locals, who witnessed the entire episode, said they screamed at the youngsters to alert them but their shouts drowned in the wind. By then, the rock they were on was fully submerged, and the boys were flailing in the water.
The locals immediately informed the fire brigade and the police.
“There was a high tide due to which the water level rose. They were so busy taking pictures that they didn’t realise the danger and almost lost their lives,” said an eyewitness Godwin Garry.
“We tried to alert them, but they couldn’t hear us,” said Ajit Gandoli, who was also part of the rescue efforts.
“As it was a holiday, we had come here to enjoy the high tide. After we got stranded, we did not know how to come out and began screaming for help. Luckily, help arrived on time,” said one of the victims.
The Uttan police let the three of them go but not before giving them a huge dressing down on the perils of the selfie craze amid disastrous situations.