Pune:5 killed in Lonavala accident
As a waterfall tragedy in Pune’s Lonavala amid monsoon rains killed several members of a family who had gone for a picnic and prompted a search operation for missing members, another mishap at another waterfall in the city claimed one more life.
The body of a 38-year-old trekker, who was swept away downstream after jumping into the Tamhini Ghat waterfall in Pune, was recovered in Maharashtra’s Raigad district on Monday.
The incident which took place on Saturday was caught on a video, which showed the man jumping into roaring waters of the Tamhini Ghat and then appearing to be struggling in the water. Seconds later, the man could be seen getting swept away downstream.
The victim has been identified as Swapnil Dhawade, a resident of Bhosari in Pimpri-Chinchwad. As per the information cited in a Free Press Journal report, Dhawade is a former army person and was trekking with a group of around 30 people.In the Lonavala incident, bodies of four members of a were recovered after they got swept away at a waterfall near the Bhushi Dam while they were on a picnic to the spot.
Rescue teams on Monday morning recovered the body of one of the two missing children, while the bodies of a 36-year-old woman and two minor girls were recovered on Sunday, the day the incident took place.
Police, Navy divers and other rescue teams on Monday resumed the search for the two missing children and recovered the body of Mariya Ansari (9) from a reservoir near the accident spot, a senior official from Pune rural police said. Search was still on for the other missing child – Adnan Sabhahat Ansari (4), he said. On Sunday, search team recovered the bodies of Shahista Liaqat Ansari (36), Amima Adil Ansari (13) and Umera Adil Ansari (8) from the reservoir downstream.
The deceased along with some more members of the family from Sayyad Nagar in Pune’s Hadapsar area had hired a private bus to visit the scenic spot near Lonavala for a picnic on the rain-soaked Sunday, news agency PTI quoted police as saying.
Members of the Ansari family went to see the waterfall close to the Bhushi Dam but were caught unawares when the water flow rose due to intense rain in the area and were swept away, a police official said on Sunday.
A relative said the family members travelled from Mumbai for a wedding a couple of days ago. On Sunday, more than 15 members hired a bus to go to Lonavala for a picnic, he said.
A video of the incident showed 9-10 persons of the family, including those who lost their lives, stranded in the middle of a stream with flood waters gushing down and crying for help while their relatives and other people asking them to hold on to each others.
