Man drowns after slipping and falling off a jetty in juhu while taking photos

Man drowns after slipping and falling off a jetty in juhu while taking photos

Mumbai: A 20-year-old man drowned on Saturday after he slipped and fell into the sea at the Juhu Koliwada beach jetty while posing for pictures. Despite attempts to save him, he was declared dead at the hospital.

The deceased, Anil Rajput, a resident of Koliwada, Khar Danda, had gone to the beach with his roommates, said the police. An eyewitness at the site, Nicky D’Scouza, who runs the community Juhu Buzz, described seeing the four men approach the edge of the jetty at the Juhu Koliwada beach at around 5pm, ignoring the warnings from people around them. “The water was very rough and splashing violently against the rocks,” said D’Souza.

Rajput was posing on the rocks when at 5:43pm, as per D’Souza, a strong wave struck him and pulled him into the water. As he started shouting, people around called emergency services and lifeguards stationed further away along the beach were informed within minutes.

“A bystander who knew how to swim jumped into the water to rescue Anil,” said D’Souza, “but the victim had panicked and ingested water. He was clinging to the rescuer, not letting either surface safely. The rescuer had to retreat, unable to do much in the strong currents without any floatation support. He tried his best, but Anil sank into the water soon after.”

According to D’Souza two lifeguards reached the spot by 5:49pm, pulled Rajput’s body onto the jetty and attempted CPR, but he did not respond. He was rushed to the Cooper Hospital but due to excessive water intake, he did not survive. The Santacruz police have registered a case of accidental death.

D’Souza alerted visitors to be cautious of the rough sea and added that the waters at Juhu Koliwada were deceptively dangerous, and there was a very narrow window to rescue a drowning person.

While parts of the Juhu Koliwada beach were barricaded on Sunday, people still went past the block, highlighting the need for more lifeguards and police at the jetty to stop people from venturing too far in.