Kayaking enthusiast drowns off Miramar

Kayaking enthusiast drowns off Miramar
TNN

PANAJI: A 32-year-old man died on Saturday when his regular kayaking foray into the sea off Miramar beach went wrong. He was not wearing a life jacket.

Panaji police said Nitin Nevrekar, owner of a car accessory shop at St Inez, went to Miramar beach with four friends and a young boy, the son of a friend, at 7am on Saturday. Two hours later he was declared brought dead at a private hospital in the city. His body was later shifted to the GMC.

Recounting what happened, the friends told police that Nevrekar who had rowed quite deep into the sea was tossed out of the kayak and was swept into the tide. Two friends who dived in to save him, managed to get him to shore after a struggle. When he didn’t respond to their first-aid attempts, they rushed him to a private hospital.

Claiming that Nevrekar refused to wear the life jacket they had carried along, the friends told the police, “He would never wear a life jacket. When we insisted that he wear it before going kayaking, he would tease us and say that while we might be scared, he isn’t.”

Commenting on the incident, businessman Annand Madgavkar, a member of the Miramar Baywatch Association, an NGO that puts up lifeguards on Miramar beach from 8am to 6pm, said, “There is no lifeguard from the tourism department on the beach and a kayak is not safe to be taken into the waves at Miramar in this weather.”

PSI Yogesh Pednekar is investigating the case.

16 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition