A day after they were reported ‘missing,’ seven members of two families from the city were traced by the Pune Rural Police on Thursday.
Siddharth Magar, his wife and twin children, and Jagannath Satav, his wife and child were found safe in a resort in Panshet, 42 km from here, sources said. Both families, residents of Hadapsar, had left to visit Panshet.
Heavy rains over the last 48 hours in the Panshet-Khadakwasla area caused them to lose contact with their relatives in the city on Wednesday. Their kin lodged a missing persons complaint with the Haveli Police later the same day.
Following reports in vernacular news channels, officials mounted an extensive search of the area. “They (the Satav and Magar families) were put up at Aquarius Resort in Khadakwasla on Tuesday night. They set out for Panshet the next day in two cars. However, there was apparently no contact with both families since 11 a.m. on Wednesday,” said Ashok Shelke, senior police inspector, Haveli Police station, speaking to The Hindu.
According to Mr. Shelke, all five mobile phones of the two families were giving an ‘out of coverage’ area message as incessant showers had disrupted connectivity.
“This had caused great consternation among relatives. However, we were sure that there was no possibility of the vehicles being swept away either in the rains or due to the discharge from Khadakwasla dam,” Mr. Shelke said.