Nagpur (PTI): A student from Maharashtra drowned and another went missing after venturing into the sea in Chennai, officials said on Sunday.

It was not yet known which institution the students were from and where exactly the incident occurred.

The Maharashtra government has appealed to the Tamil Nadu authorities to expedite the search and rescue operation.

The incident occurred on Saturday when a group of 26 students went to the seashore.

Three of them entered the waters where Mayuri Chaudhari from Nagpur drowned, while Jay Patil went missing and a search was underway for him, a statement from the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office said.

Another student, Raj Kedari, was rescued safely, it said.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has contacted the Tamil Nadu government and is overseeing relief efforts. He urged the Tamil Nadu government to provide immediate aid and launch a rescue operation. 

The family members of Chaudhari and Patil have been informed.

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Mumbai (PTI): The initial report submitted by the microbiology department of a Mumbai-based state-run hospital has said no "bacterial infection" was detected in the bodies of four family members, who died after consuming watermelon recently, officials said on Wednesday.

The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am (on April 26), hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.

They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.

After the incident, Mumbai police, forensic experts and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited the house and had collected samples of every food item that constituted the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water, and other foodstuffs, and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.

After the post-mortem of the deceased, their viscera was preserved for chemical analysis.

As the probe is underway, the microbiology department of the state-run J J Hospital has submitted its initial report to the police.

"As per the report, no bacterial infection has been detected so far in the bodies of the victims. No bacteria was found in their blood," the official said.

The exact cause of the death will be known once the forensic science lab submits its report, he said.

"The report will also clarify whether any food items consumed by the family members during the day contained anything poisonous," the official said.