Puri: Durga Puja vacation turned tragic for a family from West Bengal as one of its members drowned while bathing in the sea near the lighthouse under Baliapanda police limits in Odisha’s Puri on Wednesday.
The deceased youth has been identified as Archit Banerjee, a resident of neighbouring West Bengal.
According to sources, Archit drowned after getting caught in a rip current while bathing in the sea with his family. He was recused by lifeguards after almost 30 minutes and rushed to the district headquarters hospital, where doctors declared him death.
Notably, rip currents are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from shore. It forms when waves break near the shoreline, piling up water between the breaking waves and the beach. A person caught in a rip can be swept away from shore very quickly, according to National Weather Service.
