BHUBANESWAR: In a tragic incident, a Russian woman drowned while bathing in sea at Puri on Tuesday. The deceased Valutsa Irina (45), an ISKCON pilgrim, was part of a 66-group of foreigners, who reached Puri two days ago, sources said.
Irina and some other foreigners were swimming near Swargadwar beach when the mishap took place. "She was sucked into the sea. Though lifeguards dragged her out, she could not survive. She was declared dead by hospital authorities," A K Dhar, inspector of Sea Beach police station said.
Meanwhile, the police said it would initiate action against a mutt for not informing the former about the presence of foreigners. "As per law, the mutt authorities should have informed us about the arrival of foreigners. During inquiry we found the mutt flouting the rule," another police officer said.
This is perhaps the first time a foreign tourist drowned in sea in the living memory, even as nearly six domestic tourists have so far drowned in the Bay of Bengal in the last three months. Last year, as many as 26 drowning incidents were reported. Notably, a 70-year-old German tourist had drowned last month while bathing in a swimming pool in Puri.
