Man, his pregnant wife & two teens drown in Kashyapi dam in front of toddler

Nashik: A man, his seven-month pregnant wife, and two teenage boys from the couple’s neighbourhood drowned in the waters of the Kashyapi dam on Tuesday evening, in front of a two-year-old child who survived on the bank.

The deceased have been identified as Sachin Thombre, a 30-year-old civil engineer, his wife Rohini (25), and two teenage brothers — Ketan (16) and Kaushal Pawar (14) — all residents of Makhmalabad, Nashik.

According to the police, the Thombre couple had taken their two-year-old daughter and the two boys for an outing to the Kashyapi dam, located 25km from Nashik along the Nashik-Harsul Road, and reached the spot around 5 pm. After parking their car on the roadside, the group walked 300-400m to the water’s edge and had some snacks. One of them entered the water but, unable to gauge the depth, started drowning. In a desperate attempt to save that person, the others rushed in one after another, but were swept away.

The couple’s two-year-old daughter, who was left behind on the bank, witnessed the incident. When she began crying, a woman at some distance noticed her distress and approached her. The toddler pointed towards the water, indicating where her parents had disappeared.

Alarmed, the woman ran back nearly 400 metres to the road and alerted a local restaurant owner, who contacted the village police patil and informed the Harsul police.

Assistant Inspector Jeevan Borse said he immediately mobilised local swimmers and launched a rescue operation. By 7pm, all four bodies were retrieved and sent to Nashik Civil Hospital.

Borse said that when they reached the spot, a cellphone in Rohini Thombre’s purse was ringing. Thombre’s mother was calling. The police told her to hand over the phone to someone else in the family. Sachin’s brother then spoke to the police. He was told to immediately reach the incident spot. “Once the family members came to the spot, the little girl was handed over to them,” said Borse

“We have put up warning boards and have repeatedly advised people against entering the water, as the depth is highly deceptive and dangerous,” Borse said.

The police said the deaths highlight the risks posed by the dam’s uneven and misleading depth. Further inquiries are underway.