Bodies of all four Indian students recovered from Russia’s Volkhov river, to be repatriated

Russian authorities have recovered the bodies of all four Indian students who tragically drowned in the Volkhov River, as per a Maharashtra government official who reportedly confirmed this development on Saturday (June 8).

Jalgaon district collector Ayush Prasad said, “While two bodies were found within the first two days of the June 4 incident, Russian officials said two more were recovered this morning."

The deceased students have been identified as Harshal Anantrao Desale, Jishan Ashpak Pinjari, Jia Firoj Pinjari, and Malik Gulamgous Mohammad Yakub. They are all aged between 18 and 20 and were studying at Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University.

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To repatriate the bodies, they are being flown to Mumbai. Once the bodies arrive in Mumbaithey will be transported to Jalgaon district, the native place of the students.Jishan and Jia Pinjari were siblings from Amalner in Jalgaon, while Desale was from Bhadgaon in the same district.

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The tragic incident occurred while the students were on a walk along the Volkhov River. The students entered the waters, during which one of the deceased students Jishan Pinjari was on a video call with his family.

“When they entered the Volkhov river, Jishan made a video call to his family. His father and other family members were pleading with Jishan and the others to come out of the waters when a strong wave swept them away,” a family member shared with a media outlet.

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A fifth student, Nisha Bhupesh Sonawane, survived the incident and is currently under medical care. "Sonawane is now under the care of medical staff," a university official confirmed.

MEA condolesbereaved families

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India on Friday (June 7)confirmed the incident and expressed condolences to the bereaved families. "Our Consulate in St. Petersburg remains in contact with the university and local authorities and is providing all possible assistance," the ministry said in a statement.

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The MEA had initially reported that two bodies were recovered and stated that the Indian consulate in St. Petersburg was coordinating with local authorities for the repatriation of the mortal remains.

The Indian embassy in Moscow assured that efforts are underway to expedite the return of the deceased students' bodies to their relatives.

Jalgaon District Collector Ayush Prasad said that the support has been received from the Indian embassy and consulate in Russia. In response to the incident, the Indian embassy in Russia issued an advisory urging Indian students in the country to exercise extreme caution near water bodies.

(With inputs from agencies)