Three Russians drown in Goa

Panaji: A Dolphin watching trip turned tragic for a group of Russian tourists in Goa after their boat, operating without a valid licence, capsized on sea, 60 kms away from here, in which three women drowned while their compatriots were rescued.

The boat, carrying ten passengers, all identified as Russian nationals, was on a Dolphin watching excursion when it sank around 11 am after being hit by a huge wave in sea at Betul village in South Goa, an official of the state tourism department's lifeguard services said.

As the boat turned upside down, the three women got trapped under the boat and drowned. The seven other passengers were rescued by lifeguards, he said.

Goa Tourism Director Amey Abhyankar said the boat was operating without any licence.

"Today's incident involving drowning of three Russian tourists is very unfortunate. The capsized boat was operating without permissions and an FIR has been registered against the boat operator," said Abhyankar.

When contacted, South Goa SP Shekhar Prabhudesai said that FIR was registered against the boat operator who was ferrying tourists without valid licence.

"Investigation has been initiated by local police into the entire incident," he said.

The three bodies were later fished out and taken to district hospital in Margao town for post-mortem.

The MeT department here had advised people not to venture into the waters as the sea is presently rough.