A 20-year-old boy from Pune, who had gone to Kashid beach with his classmates, drowned while swimming in the sea on July 1. His body was found after a 43-hour-long search operation involving thermal drones, helicopters and coordinated rescue efforts.
The deceased, Tanishk Malhotra, was a final-year undergraduate student. He had travelled to Kashid with three friends — Mark Milton, Varun Tiwari and Punya Patil. The group entered the water for a swim, but couldn't judge the depth and the sea conditions. They were unaware of the strong undercurrents. While his friends managed to return to shore safely, Malhotra was swept away by strong currents and went missing. He was pulled under by the waves and vanished from sight.
Emergency teams, including the Murud Police, Indian Coast Guard, local lifeguards,and SVRSS volunteers, immediately launched a search operation. Despite challenging weather conditions, the effort intensified over the next two days. On Thursday, advanced equipment, including thermal drones and a helicopter, was deployed.
The search ended at around 7.45am on Thursday when his body was located and recovered. It was later sent to Murud Rural Hospital for postmortem and further procedures.
“This was a preventable tragedy,” said an officer from Murud Police Station. “Over 150 people have lost their lives on the Murud-Kashid coastline in recent years due to similar negligence,” he added.
