Bhushi Dam Lonavala: Five people, including four children, drowned on Sunday at a waterfall close to Bhushi Dam in Pune’s Lonavala area while on a picnic. While three bodies were found on Sunday, one was recovered on Monday. The fifth person, a four-year-old, remains missing.
Police and Navy divers and other rescue teams recovered the body of Mariya Ansari, 9, from a reservoir near the accident spot, a senior official from Pune rural police told PTI. The search is still on for four-year-old Adnan Sabhahat Ansari, he said.
According to a PTI report, on Sunday, a family of 16-17 members from Sayyad Nagar in Pune’s Hadapsar area visited a spot near Lonavala for a picnic. Due to sudden flooding, about 10 people were swept away. Five of them were rescued.
The deceased include Shahista Liaqat Ansari, 36, Amima Adil Ansari, 13, and Umera Adil Ansari, 8.
A police official said volunteers from the Vanyajeev Rakshak Maval, the Shivdurg rescue team, and divers from the Navy conducted search operations until late on Sunday evening to locate the missing children. Mariya Ansari was finally found on Monday morning.
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The Ansari family went to see the waterfall near Bhushi Dam but is believed to have been caught off guard when the water rose unexpectedly due to intense rainfall in the area and were swept away.
As the monsoon season begins, visitors are flocking to the Bhushi and Pavana dam regions. Authorities say they often disregard warnings from the police and other agencies to avoid unknown areas. A police officer estimated that over 50,000 people visited Lonavala on Sunday, according to PTI. He added that as the monsoon season progresses, the number of visitors is expected to swell.