MARGAO
The body of the deceased, Anil Pawar, was fished out by the police at the Colva beach later in the evening.
Jet Ski owner Cosmos Fernandes told the media that tragedy struck the jet ski operator around noon after a huge wave turned the vessel upside down just metres away from the shore. The young lad, who was manning the jet ski was apparently injured when the vessel crashed on his face as evident by the fact that he has sustained deep wounds on his chin. “The deceased was manoeuvring the jet ski in the sea. The machine was stationed in the waters, may be around 15-25 metres from the shore as an emergency to attend to any untoward incident involving para sailing. It was unfortunate that the jet ski turned upside down when a huge wave crashed on the water sports vessel,” Cosmos said.
Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred just in front of the people around the beach. Lifeguards manning the beach rushed to the rescue of the operator, but in vain.
Though the deceased was known for his skills in swimming, he was apparently pulled inside by strong undercurrents when the wave crashed on the jet ski. Cosmos said the deceased had joined him only around 10-15 days ago. He was earlier working at Calangute.
Colva police station in-charge, PI Satish Gawde told The Goan at the Colva beach on Friday evening that the jet ski owner Cosmos Fernandes has said that he has the necessary permissions to operate the water sports. Investigating officer PSI Rahul Naik said he would ask the owner to produce the relevant permissions at the Colva police station on Saturday.
