Goa lifeguard agency issues advisory against swimming at night

Panaji, Sep 7 (IANS) Even as four persons drowned in Goa over the last five days while swimming at night, the state's private lifeguard agency on Thursday issued an advisory deterring beach-goers from wading into the sea.

Drishti Lifesaving in an advisory urged the beach-goers "not to venture into the sea under any circumstances after sunset as the sea conditions are extremely unsafe".

"Poor visibility in the night and under water currents add to the complexity. If under the influence of alcohol, make sure you do not venture into the sea at any point of time during the night or day," the advisory states.

Two students from Ahmedabad-based Mudra Institute of Communication drowned after they ventured into the sea at Candolim beach at 3 a.m. on Thursday.

The deceased have been identified as Anuja Susan from Chennai and Gurram Chenchu Sai from Andhra Pradesh, who were a part of a group of 47 students on a study tour in Goa along with their faculty.

"In the past five days, three incidents have taken place leading to the drowning of four persons, where victims have ventured into the sea under nightfall. In two cases, the victims entered the sea in the early hours of 3 a.m.," the advisory states.

The private agency's lifeguards are stationed on Goa's beaches only from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The advisory states that Goa's beaches have a lot of monsoonal inlets at specific locations and the water run-offs generate strong rip currents which exist till the end of the monsoon.

"It has been observed that during this season the tides are usually high and the tidal force is much more than normal because of the strong and gusty winds that increase the tide level," the advisory states.

"Also, the waves are higher than the regular waves while the underwater currents are much stronger during the monsoon."

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