Jalgaon: Russian authorities have recovered the bodies of all four Indian students who drowned in the Volkhov river, a Maharashtra government official said on Saturday. “Two bodies were found within the first two days of the June 4 incident, while Russian authorities said two more bodies were recovered this morning,” Jalgaon District Collector Ayush Prasad said. The bodies are being flown to Mumbai and will later be taken to the students’ native places in Jalgaon district, the official said. Harshal Anantrao Desale, Jishan Ashpak Pinjari, Jiya Feroz Pinjari and Malik Gulamgaus Mohammed Yakub drowned, while another student, Nisha Bhupesh Sonawane, survived. All were aged between 18 and 20. They were studying at the Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University.
The students were walking along the Volkhov river when they entered the water, a university official said. A family member said that Jishan Pinjari was talking to his parents on a video call when he and three others drowned. “When they got into the Volkhov river, Jishan made a video call to his family. His father and other family members were pleading Jishan and the others to come out of the water when a strong wave swept them away,” the family member told local media. Jishan Pinjari and Jiya Pinjari were siblings and belonged to Amalner in Jalgaon district. Desale was from Bhadgaon in Jalgaon district. The administration of Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University expressed condolences in a message sent to the Indian envoy in Russia. “Sonawane is now under the care of medical staff,” a university official said.