Eight students on a picnic drowned in the Arabian Sea off the popular Diveagar beach in Maharashtra’s Raigad district on Thursday, with the bodies of all the victims being recovered, police said.These students of Class XI and XII were part of a group from a private coaching institute, ‘Winners Academy’, based at Alandi in Pune district, they said.Located around 170 km from Mumbai, Diveagar is famous for its beach and historic temples.A police official said a group of 48 people, including 25 boys, 17 girls and six teachers, had gone for a picnic at the beach under the jurisdiction of the Dighi Coastal Police Station.Eight students ventured into the sea and were swept away after misjudging the depth of the water and current, he added.Search and rescue teams rushed to the spot following an alert and recovered the bodies, he said.Police personnel and local authorities are present at the site to carry out further legal and administrative proceedings, the official said.Meanwhile, terming the incident as “heartbreaking”, Shiv Sena MLA Mahendra Dalvi, who represents the Alibag assembly constituency, on Thursday expressed disappointment over the “lack of adequate safety precautions” by the local administration.The lives of eight students ended tragically during their trip to Diveagar from Pune, he said.“Such incidents keep happening there time and again, so the local administration must take safety precautions. Young schoolchildren may not be able to assess the risks posed by the sea, including high tide and the depth of water,” he said, stressing the need for making appropriate arrangements there.Had these students been guided or advised about the unpredictable nature of the sea, their lives would have been saved. They should have been cautioned against venturing into the water, he added.“Young schoolchildren have no idea about the sea. It’s not a pond, it’s the sea! They cannot gauge the high tide or the depth of the water. Moreover, these young children might not even know how to swim,” Dalvi said.He also urged the local MLA and the MP to look into the issue.