New Delhi: Russian authorities are still searching for the bodies of four Indian students who drowned while swimming in a river. A fifth Indian student, identified as Nisha Sonawane, was rescued; she is in a critical condition, the Russian internal affairs ministry said in a statement.
The four students who drowned have been identified as siblings Jia and Jishan Pinjari, Mohammad Yakub Malik, and Harshal Desalei. All four were from Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district, according to an External Affairs Ministry statement.
“All the above (Indian) citizens are students of the Novgorod State University named after Y Mudryy. The bodies of the drowned have not been detected. The searches were suspended till the morning of 05.06.2024,” the Russian authorities said in the statement, according to NDTV.
“When they entered the Volkhov river, Jishan made a video call to his family. His father and other family members were pleading with Jishan and others to come out of the river waters when a strong wave swept them away,” a family member told local media, NDTV reported. Following the incident, the Indian embassy in Russia issued an advisory on Friday, asking Indians in Russia to be extremely careful while going to water bodies.
“Unfortunate incidents of drowning of Indian students in Russia are taking place from time to time. In such incidents this year so far four Indian students have lost their lives,” the Indian embassy in Moscow said.
It said two Indian students drowned in Russia in 2023, and six in 2022.
