A man, a woman, and children clinging on to them for support in the middle of a raging waterfall in Lonavala near Mumbai were swept away by the gushing waters. Only two of them managed to swim back.
The family of seven were holidaying in the hill station just 80 km from Mumbai. Three bodies have been recovered so far and the search and rescue op will resume at daybreak tomorrow.
Like hundreds of tourists who throng this hill town during the monsoons, the family went picnicking at the waterfall near the backwaters of the Bhusi Dam this afternoon. Heavy rains in the region since early morning caused the dam to overflow, which increased the flow of water in the waterfall.
Terrifying visuals of the family’s last minutes showed them standing on a rock in the middle of the rhapsodic falls, holding on to each other and hoping to move against the tide and onto the land.
In less than a minute, the sheer force of the rushing water overpowered them and swept them away downstream as they screeched and screamed for help.
The other tourists also gathered on the banks and called for help, but the rushing waters made it impossible for anyone to jump to their rescue.
The incident happened around 1:30 pm today. Locals and the police rushed to the spot and began looking for survivors with ropes and trekking gear.
According to the police, the tourists slipped into a waterfall and drowned in the reservoir downstream, news agency PTI reported. 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, reported news agency IANS.
The accident has triggered concerns over security arrangements in the waterfall and the Bhusi dam downstream.
Another purported video from the same place showed hundreds sitting on the edge of the dam and its wall as water flowed in. Food stalls were seen in the middle of the waterfall as tourists revelled in the gushing waters, unperturbed by any concerns about security. No security arrangement was also seen in the area to stop the tourists from going into the area. NDTV however couldn’t independently verify the authenticity of the video.