Two persons died apparently of suffocation after getting sucked by waves in Digha on Tuesday afternoon when they allegedly flouted civic volunteers’ instructions not to bathe in the sea.

The deceased were Noor Mohammed Midya, 49, and Maidul Naskar, 38, of Howrah’s Liluah who had come to Digha earlier in the day in a group of four on a business trip.

“We came to see the beach as we had seen so much damage by Yaas on TV,” said Muktim Mullick from the group, who insisted he did not bathe in the sea unlike his friends.

Civic volunteers on duty differed. “We told the four men repeatedly that bathing in the sea was banned because of strong undercurrents ahead of the June 10 high tide,” said civic volunteer Tapas Jana. “They ignored our advice and proceeded to bathe.”

Naskar and Midya were reportedly sucked into a strong series of waves and pulled deep into the sea, where they asphyxiated after drowning. Their bodies were recovered by civic volunteers 15 minutes later and rushed to Digha state general hospital where both were declared brought dead.

“We have told the families (about the deaths). The bodies are being sent to Contai for post mortem,” said officer-in-charge (Digha-Mohona), Satyajit Chanakya.

The incident occurred in the middle of a state-wide restriction to contain crowds and lower the instances of Covid-19 infection.

All hotels in Digha remain shut to tourists.

“The reason that we have temporarily banned sea bathing is the brewing high tide that could hit on June 10 or 11,” Chanakya added.

Local residents said they had been observing a trend of outsiders taking joyrides through Digha over the past couple of days.