Pune: Tragedy struck on Monday (August 19) morning when two students from a Vedic school in Pimpri drowned in the Indrayani River during a ritual, while a third student remains missing. The incident occurred around 8:30 a.m. in the Tapkir Vasti area of Moshi.

The students, Jai Omprakash Daima (19) from Nashik and Omkar Shrikrishna Pathak (16) from Latur, lost their lives in the river. The missing student is Pranav Ramakant Potdar (17), from Khada, Ashti, Beed). Two others, Archit Dixit and Chaitanya Pathak, were rescued.

The Vedic School "Vedashree Tapovan" is located in Hawaldar Vasti, Moshi. On Monday morning, 71 students from the school, accompanied by Guruji Mahesh Nande, went to the Indrayani River to perform a ritual.

During the ritual, Omkar, Pranav, Archit, and Chaitanya began to drown. As they screamed for help, Jai jumped in to save them. He managed to rescue Archit and Chaitanya, but during the rescue attempt, Jai inhaled water, which severely affected his condition.

He was immediately taken to the Yashwantrao Chavan Hospital of the Municipal Corporation, but the doctors declared him dead before treatment could begin.

The rescue team from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation Fire Department arrived at the scene, followed by teams from the NDRF, Pimpri-Chinchwad Disaster Management Department, Wildlife Protection Maval Institution, and another rescue team from Alandi.

By around 2 p.m., Omkar's body was recovered from the water, but the search for Pranav continued late into the evening.

A case of 'accidental death' has been registered. Further action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation. Assistant Police Commissioner Sachin Hire stated that the search operation was halted due to darkness and will resume in the morning.