MUMBAI, Oct. 8 -- A 29-year-old Tardeo resident, Frashogar Darayush Battiwala, had a narrow escape on Monday night as his four-wheeler plunged into the Arabian Sea while he was speeding along the Coastal Road. The car jumped over the three-feet high retaining wall of the Coastal Road's Worli connector and plunged into the sea more than 30 feet below, said police. Battiwala was drunk at the time of the incident, they said. He was rescued promptly by the Coastal Road staff and Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) jawans who were nearby, while his car was recovered and seized on Tuesday evening, the police added. According to the police, Battiwala's parents were in business while he was jobless and had purchased a Suzuki Ertiga two months ago. He decided to go for a drive in his car on Monday night after drinking with his friends near his residence in Tardeo. He took the Coastal Road from Haji Ali; when he reached the Bindu Madhav Thackeray Chowk shortly before 11pm, he took the Worli connector of the Coastal Road as he wanted to reach Prabhadevi. "As Battiwala was speeding, he lost control of the vehicle while taking the left turn on the curved road opposite the Naman Xana building. The vehicle swerved to the right, jumped over the three-feet high retaining wall and broke through the guardrail to plunge into the sea," said a police officer attached to Worli police station. Local residents and labourers working on the Coastal Road toilet block, who were sleeping nearby, rushed to the spot after hearing loud noises and noticing sparks caused by the vehicle scraping against the metal guardrail. The car had plunged into the sea around 15 feet away from the Worli promenade, where the water was shallow, they noticed. "Though it was dark, we could see the car drowning slowly and hear Battiwala shouting for help as he tried desperately to stay afloat," said Wasim Rajput, one of the Coastal Road workers. "We threw a rope into the sea, hoping he would grab it and get out of the water." Soon, Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) personnel posted on the Worli promenade reached the spot and began assisting the rescue efforts. Two MSF jawans waded into the sea to help Battiwala catch hold of the rope and walk to safety on the shore. "He was very frightened and shocked due to the incident and had several bruises," said Akash Popatwar, a MSF jawan who was present at the spot. "While taking him to the police station, we realised that he was drunk." The police ran a breath analyser check and sent his blood sample for testing, which confirmed that he was inebriated at the time of the accident, the police officer quoted earlier said. Battiwala claimed that his car had plunged into the sea after being hit by another vehicle from behind. The Worli police, however, booked him under sections 281 (rash driving on a public way), 125 (acts endangering life or personal safety of others) and 324 (mischief) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and section 185 (driving by a drunken person) of the Motor Vehicles Act. "We did not arrest Battiwala as the offences he has been booked for attract less than seven years of imprisonment," said the police officer quoted earlier. "Besides, he is still in trauma and has several injuries, though he was with us while we tried to locate his car." Fishermen from Worli koliwada helped the police locate the car underwater on Tuesday, as an injured, limping Battiwala stood along the shore. The car was fished out in the evening using a crane, from a spot around 150 metres away from where it had plunged into the sea....