Three of family die after drowning in waterfall at Lonavala, search on for two missing children

PUNE: Three people, including two minors, lost their lives while two are still missing after drowning in a waterfall near Bhushi dam in Lonavala on Sunday. The incident occurred at the rear of Bhushi Dam under a waterfall in Pune’s Lonavala area around 12.30 pm on Sunday.

Three bodies have been recovered and the deceased have been identified as Shahista Ansari (36), Amima Ansari (13), and Umera Ansari (8), while the missing ones are identified as Adnan Ansari (4) and Maria Sayyad (9), all hailing from the Sayyad Nagar area of Pune City.

On Monday morning, search and rescue operations resumed for the second day. The Indian Navy has deployed its divers for the operations. As per recent updates, two children identified as 4-year-old Adnan Ansari and 9-year-old Mariya Sayyad were still missing.

#WATCH | Maharashtra | Search and rescue operation is being conducted by a team of Indian Navy divers near Bhushi dam in Lonavala after a woman and four children drowned in a waterfall here yesterday

So far, three bodies have been recovered and two remain missing pic.twitter.com/dVRzNOLl6y

— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2024

In a joint effort by Lonavala Police and emergency services, a rescue operation was launched on Sunday to find the missing children. The family was on a day out when the tragedy struck as their picnic turned into a nightmare with the drowning of five members.

According to Superintendent of Pune Rural Police, Pankaj Deshmukh, “A woman and four children drowned in a waterfall near Bhushi dam in Lonavala. Three bodies have been recovered at the end of search and rescue operations on Sunday. All five people are from one family”.

Deshmukh further added, “The victims have been identified as Shahista Ansari (36), Amima Ansari (13) and Umera Ansari (8), whose bodies have been recovered, and Adnan Ansari (4) and Maria Sayyad (9) were still missing. The family was enjoying a day out when tragedy struck, with some members getting too close to the waterfall and being swept away by the strong currents”.

Rescue efforts were initiated immediately, with the Lonavala Police and emergency services swiftly responding to the scene. Despite their best efforts, Adnan and Maria had remained unaccounted for, prompting a relentless search operation involving divers and rescue teams. (ANI)