Swimming champion drowns while paying homage to 26/11 victims

Mumbai, Dec 30 (IANS) Maharashtra swimming champion Vinod Ghadge, who was swimming in the Arabian Sea early Tuesday to pay homage to the victims of the Nov 26 Mumbai terror attacks, got entangled in fishing nets and drowned, police said.

Ghadge, 50, plunged into the cold water of the Arabian sea at Dharamtar village in Raigad, about 36 km from here, at about 2.30 a.m. He intended to swim to the Gateway of India.

However, around 10 nautical miles from the Gateway of India, he got entangled in the fishing nets and drowned at about 4.30 a.m., police said.

Ghadge, an employee of the state government's sales tax department, had been chosen for this year's Shiv Chhatrapati Award - the highest sports award of the state.

'He died like a hero in his attempt to pay respect to the victims and martyrs of the 26/11 terror attacks,' Mahesh Chanduirkar, president of the Maharashtra Sales Tax Gazetted Officers' Association (MSTGOA), told IANS.

Ghadge's body was pulled out of the sea by the police and fishermen. He is survived by his wife Uma, a nine-year-old son and a 11-year-old daughter.