Five people, including a woman and four children, were swept away by the force of waterfalls near Bhushi dam near Lonavala Hill Station on Sunday afternoon, June 30.
Mayur Agnave, in-charge of Lonavla police station, said that the incident took place around 1-2 pm due to sudden rise in the waterfall due to heavy rains, following which a rescue operation was immediately launched.
Police identified the deceased as Shahista Liaqat Ansari (36), Amima Adil Ansari (13), and Umera Adil Ansari (8); however, Adnan Sabhahat Ansari (4) and Mariya Aqil Ansari (9) are still missing, the official said.
The police say that due to continuous rain in Lonavala, the dam had overflown, therefore, the rescue team faced major hurdles in recovering the bodies.
According to the police, 16-17 members of a 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 day.
Locals said they may have slipped on the mossy boulders they were standing on at the base of the falls and got swept away by the force of the water.
Pune Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Pankaj Deshmukh said that a search operation is underway at the site to trace the missing people. “While we have recovered the bodies of a 40-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl, three children, including two nine-year-old girls and a four-year-old boy, are still missing. It appears that they were part of a family and had slipped into a waterfall some two kilometres away from Bhushi Dam and drowned at the reservoir downstream,” Deshmukh added.
Large number of tourists from all over the country including Maharashtra come here for leisure trip especially during monsoon. Lonavala rural police and rescue team reached the spot on getting information about the incident. A tight police presence has been maintained.
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