4 drown in Kashyapi Dam in Maharashtra

NASHIK: A couple and two of their neighbours' children drowned in the Kashyapi Dam, located 50 km from Nashik along the Nashik-Harsul Road, on Tuesday evening.

The deceased have been identified as Sachin Thombre (30), his wife Rohini (25), and two teenage brothers from their neighborhood, Ketan Pawar (16) and Kaushal Pawar (14). All were residents of Makhmalabad, Nashik.

The Thombre couple, along with their three-year-old daughter and the two neighbour boys, had gone for an outing to the Kashyapi Dam on Tuesday.

According to the police, the group reached the spot around 5 pm. After parking their car by the roadside, they walked 300 to 400 meters down to the water's edge. After having some snacks, one of them entered the dam water. Unable to gauge the depth of the water, he began to drown. In a desperate bid to save him, the other three rushed into the water one after the other, only to be swept away themselves.

Thombre’s three-year-old daughter, however, remained safe on the bank. When she began crying after seeing her parents disappear into the water, a woman, who was at a distant heard her and asked about her parents. The toddler merely pointed toward the dam water.

The alarmed woman then ran back to the road, about 400 meters away, and alerted a local restaurant owner. He immediately contacted the village Police Patil, who subsequently informed the Harsul Police, said assistant police inspector (API) Jeevan Borse of the Harsul Police Station.

PI Borse stated that he quickly mobilized local swimmers from the village and launched a rescue operation. By 7 pm, all four bodies were fished out of the water and transported to the Nashik Civil Hospital.

"We have put up warning boards and repeatedly advising people not to enter the water, as the depth is highly deceptive and dangerous," PI Borse added.

In a tragic revelation, the police also confirmed that Rohini Thombre was seven months pregnant as well.