Civic body officials monitor the level of Ajwa reservoir in Vadodara on Wednesday. (Bhupendra Rana)
AS WATER started to recede slowly at Khariya village in Kankrej taluka of Banaskantha district on Wednesday morning, a tragedy began to unfold. One by one, rescue team members pulled out 14 bodies of Thakor family who were washed away in a flash flood on Tuesday night. Among them were bodies of five men, five women and four children, aged between two-and-a-half years and 13.
“We live near Banas river and were warned about the river swelling up as the water from the nearby dam was released. But we did not know that it would happen so fast. Water rushed in and I saw my family members being washed away in the strong current. I survived because I could hold on to a tree branch,” Hansa Sadram Thakor, one of the daughters-in-law of the family, told The Indian Express over phone.
For six hours, Hansa held on to a branch of the tree before she was rescued by people from neighbouring villages.
Of the six brothers in the family, four survived the flash flood.
“I have not come to terms with the incident. One moment we were sitting together and another, the water just came in. I have lost four of my brothers and their families in one go… I saw my 13-year-old niece screaming for help as she was carried away by the stream. I tried to reach out to her, but the current was very strong,” said 48-year-old Sadram Thakor, one of the brothers.
Till now 22 bodies have been recovered from the village. In Ahmedabad, Revenue Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasma expressed grief over the tragedy. “We will do everything possible to reach out to the family,” he said.
