Gokarna: The deceased were among a group of 23 students from Tiruchi SRM Medical College who were on a tour of Dandeli, Gokarna, and Murdeshwar in Uttara Kannada district. The trip, organized by Vetri Tours and Travels based in Chennai, was planned after the students had completed their final examinations.

After visiting Dandeli and Vibhuti Falls near Yana, the students arrived in Gokarna. While watching the sunset at Jatayu Tirtha, located near Kudle Beach, two students were swept away by strong waves.

A local resident, Maniraju, who attempted to rescue the students, was also pulled in by the waves. Locals nearby quickly brought all three ashore using a boat and rushed them to the government hospital in Gokarna. While Maniraju survived, the two students, Kanimozhi and Hinduja, could not be saved.

Their bodies were later moved to the mortuary at the district hospital in Karwar.

Police have filed a case against the tour guide, Gandhi (23) from Iramattur in Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri district, and Vetri Selvan (29), the owner of the tour agency, for negligence. They have been booked under Section 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).