Tourist drowns, another missing at Mandarmani
Bhograi: Three tourists swept away by strong currents while taking a bath at Mandarmani beach near Digha here. While one of them died, another was rescued, but the third person is missing till the last report came in. The incident occurred despite repeated warnings by the administration to avoid entering the sea due to turbulent conditions caused by a low-pressure area over the southwest Bay of Bengal. The system is moving northwest, activating monsoon currents along Odisha–West Bengal coastline and triggering moderate to heavy rainfall in the region since Tuesday.
The three friends, all from Barasat in West Bengal, were reportedly bathing in the sea when strong waves dragged them in. Local volunteers found two of them using a speedboat and rushed them to a nearby hospital. A 22-year-old was declared dead on arrival, while a 21-year-old remains stable. The third, aged 19, is still missing. This is not the first such tragedy in the area. On July 16 last year, five Bengali tourists were swept away at the same location – four were rescued, and one died. In another recent incident near Udaypur beach, two Bengali tourists and one Odia woman drowned. Locals expressed concern that no official complaint was lodged at Talsari Marine Police Station regarding the incident.
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