Pune: One more body recovered in Lonavala drowning case
Jul 01, 2024
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], July 1 : One of the two children, who have been missing since the family of five drowned in a waterfall close to Bhushi Dam in Pune's Lonavala, was found dead, a senior district official said on Monday.
The three people whose bodies were recovered on Sunday have been identified as Shahista Ansari (36), Amima Ansari (13) and Umera Ansari (8). One child is still missing.
The incident occurred at the backside of the Bhushi Dam under a waterfall in Lonavala on June 30 at around 12:30 pm.
Suhas Diwas, District Collector of Pune said today, "The rescue operations had started yesterday. Three bodies were recovered yesterday. We resumed the operations again this morning. It has been difficult to find the bodies because of the rising water levels due to heavy rains."
In a joint effort by the Lonavala Police and emergency services, rescue operations are underway to find the missing child.
Further, he continued, "The family had come here with their kids and were not aware of the water levels. The water levels rose suddenly due to the rains which led to the tragic incident"
He also appealed to the public to be careful of their visiting surroundings and not go near any water bodies in the rainy weather.
"I appeal to the public to be responsible and not go near any waterfalls and streams. We have issued advisories and the management has been asked to handle any sort of incidents. Similar incidents have taken place over the last couple of days. Care needs to be taken and proper planning needs to be done, keeping in mind the weather conditions."
Anand Gawde, a rescue member also said "Our rescue team had received a call around 1:30 pm yesterday and were informed that five people had drowned. The water levels are very high which led to the incident. We are trying our best to recover the other bodies."
Rescue efforts were initiated immediately with the Lonavala police and emergency services swiftly responding to the scene.