PUNE/NAVI MUMBAI, Oct. 3 -- A day after eight students from a coaching institute in Alandi on the outskirts of Pune drowned in Raigad district while on a study tour, police said that the students had ventured into sea water that was only chest-deep, but were pulled in by strong currents, leading to their death. Raigad Superintendent of Police (SP) Anchal Dalal said Diveagar beach, where the incident occurred, was relatively safer than other beaches in Raigad such as Kashid where the depth near the shoreline increases very rapidly due to steep sand drops and underwater currents are strong. "Yet, once the students entered chest-deep water, the current began pulling them in. Those who knew swimming came ashore, while those who died apparently did not know swimming," Dalal said. Meanwhile, the Alandi Municipal Council on Friday ordered immediate sealing of the premises of Winners Academy, where the students were enrolled, after a preliminary inquiry revealed that the institute had been operating without the necessary municipal permission for nearly two years. "A special inquiry committee is also being constituted to conduct a detailed inspection of all private coaching classes and educational institutions in the city," Alandi Municipal Council chief officer Madhav Khandekar told reporters. As reported by HT on Friday, the eight deceased students were part of a 48-member group which was on an educational trip to Raigad Fort and Shrivardhan. The Raigad police have registered an accidental death report and are probing the circumstances leading to the students' death, including the contours of the beach, sea conditions and if adequate safety measures were in place. According to the police, 17 students had entered the sea on Thursday evening, intending to remain only in chest-deep water. But the current pulled them into deeper waters, and only nine students were able to swim back to the shore while the remaining eight students who likely did not know how to swim drowned. "The students may not have realised how quickly the depth and conditions of the sea could change at the spot," the Raigad SP said, stressing on the need for enhanced safety measures at beaches in the district. After multiple deaths were recorded at Kashid beach over the past decade, a battery-operated buoy was deployed recently at the beach as a safety measure. "A similar decision might have to be taken by the gram panchayat (whose jurisdiction covers the Diveagar beach)," Dalal said. The police are also examining if there was any negligence or failure of duty on the part of Winners Academy, which had organised the study trip. "If negligence and failure of duty is established, action will be taken accordingly," the SP said. According to a preliminary probe by the Alandi Municipal Council, Winners Academy had been operating without obtaining an official licence for its commercial or educational activities. Alandi Municipal Council chief officer Madhav Khandekar said the institute would be sealed with immediate effect. A special inquiry committee constituted in light of the incident would conduct a detailed inspection of all private coaching classes and educational institutions in the city, Khandekar said. "If private coaching classes, educational institutes or academies are found operating without valid licences or in violation of safety norms, legal action will be taken against them and they will be shut down," Khandekar warned. The committee is likely to examine consent documents obtained by the institute from parents prior to the study tour, to find out what information was provided to parents regarding the destination, itinerary and safety arrangements, officials said. The parent of a student enrolled at Winners Academy, requesting anonymity, said the institute should not be held solely responsible for the tragedy. "The institute can't be solely blamed for the accident as the intention was to provide some relaxation to the students. The institute provides quality education at nominal charges. If it is shut, hundreds of students will suffer," he said. BS Narke, senior inspector at Alandi police station, said that the parents of the deceased students had not yet filed a complaint....