Two MICA students drown on field trip in Goa

A Goa trip turned tragic for 47 students of MICA after two of their batch mates drowned at Candolim Beach early Thursday.

According to information received, six students visited the beach at 3 am, where two of them drowned. The students, identified as Anuja Susan Paul and Gurram Chenchu Sai Jnaneswar, studied at the Crafting Creative Communication Programme.

Anuja’s bodywas immediately recovered, while it took lifeguards five hours to pull out Gurram’s corpse. “The parents were informed immediately, but nobody was able to reach Goa by afternoon,” said Siddharth Deshmukh, Associate Dean, MICA.

The students were accompanied by two course instructors, professor Pravin Mishra, Director of the CCC programme and professor Nitesh Mohanty, along with two course coordinators.

MICA immediately issued a statement describing the course of events. “ MICA’s leadership team is in touch with their families and our thoughts and prayers are with them and the two departed souls,” the statement said.

While speaking to DNA, Deshmukh added that the institute was waiting for details from the spot. “We are also helping Gurram’s parents to book their tickets, as they are coming from Vellore,” he said.

Commenting on the incident, MICA’s President and Director Professor Shailendra Raj Mehta said, “These were two bright and engaging students who were full of energy and promise. It is a tragic loss for their families and for the entire MICA community”.