All eight were 16-year-old students of Classes 11 and 12 at Winners Academy, a private coaching institute in Alandi, Pune district.
A group of 48 people, 25 boys, 17 girls and six teachers, had travelled from Alandi for the picnic, according to police.
All eight bodies were recovered, police said. Eight students entered the sea but were swept away after apparently misjudging the depth of the water and the current, a police official said. Prashant Kurhade, chairman of the Alandi Municipal Council, said some of the students were from Alandi while others were from neighbouring Kelgaon.
For the families, what began as a picnic with classmates and teachers ended in a tragedy that no parent could have imagined when their children left home. An alert was raised after the students were swept away, following which search and rescue teams rushed to the spot. The teams recovered all eight bodies. Police and local authorities were at the site for the necessary legal and administrative proceedings.
The eight students, all from a private coaching institute in Alandi, drowned at Maharashtra’s Diveagar beach on Thursday after they were swept away by the sea.