Panaji: Three Russian women tourists drowned while on a boating excursion to see dolphins in the sea off Goa, police said Tuesday.
The incident took place at mid-day off Betul beach in South Goa, 50 km from Panaji.
A police official said the women were on a dolphin sighting trip in a motor-powered boat, when the vessel capsized after encountering a large wave.
"They were trapped under the boat and drowned because they could not breathe," a police official engaged in the rescue work said.
Dolphin sighting tours are commonplace along popular Goa beaches where hi-powered speed boats are used to chase down dolphins swimming in the sea more than a kilometre off the coastline.
Police said that enquiries were being made with hotels in a bid to identify the dead. The bodies were ferried to a government hospital for post mortem examination.
