Three incidents during this period have led to the drowning of four persons with case details indicating the victims ventured into the sea under nightfall. In two cases the victims entered the sea in the early hours of 3am. The victims in all the cases are tourists including students hailing from Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Gujarat. In another incident, a Dona Paula resident’s body was washed ashore at Candolim beach on September 3. According to the local police, the person was identified as Sonu Gauns (60). His family members had claimed that he had gone on a fishing boat with two others and the boat had overturned after which he went missing.

Drishti stated that its 600-strong lifeguard force man Goa’s beaches between 7am and 6pm daily. With moderate and heavy rains lashing various parts of Goa, the State-appointed professional lifeguard agency had earlier issued monsoon advisory instructing beach not to venture into the sea during the monsoon months from June till the end of September.

Drishti has now further advised beach goers not to venture into the sea under any circumstances after sunset as the sea conditions are extremely unsafe and poor visibility in the night besides under water currents add to the complexity. “If under the influence of alcohol, make sure you do not venture into the sea at any point of time during the night or day,” the advisory states.

Goa’s beaches have a lot of monsoonal inlets at specific locations and the water run-offs generate strong rip currents which exists till the end of monsoons. It has been observed that during this season the tides are usually high and the tidal force is much more than normal because of the strong and gusty winds that increase the tide level.  Also, the waves are higher than the regular waves while the underwater currents are much stronger during the monsoons.

Owing to the present weather conditions, red flags have been posted across all beaches under Drishti’s surveillance indicating that these are strictly non-swim zones. In case of a dry spell and depending on weather conditions, Drishti does open up a few beach stretches so that visitors can wade into the waters.

Drishti Lifesaving checks the weather forecast with the IMD on a daily basis to keep a close tab on the weather conditions. The team is trained to carry out rescues even in rough weather

The Goa government shuts down the beaches for swimming and all water sports activities during the monsoon months from June to August each year as the sea during this season tends to be extremely rough and choppy.