15-year-old from Pune falls to death during parasailing at Murud beach

A 15-year-old from Kasba peth died after he fell from a height of 15 feet during parasailing in Raigad on Saturday morning. Vedant Ganesh Pawar, a Class 10 student, was parasailing along with his father at the Murud beach when the incident occurred, police said.

Assistant police inspector Kishore Sali said that the victim was parasailing along with his father when he accidentally rolled up the parachute instead of opening it. “He got entangled in the parachute and fell down sustaining serious head injured. His father fell on him and as a result Vedant sustained more injuries. He was rushed to a local hospital, but he died during treatment,” he said.

According to PSI Sali, Vedant was Pawar’s only son. The victim’s mother is posted as a constable with the Shivajinagar police station while his father runs a courier business. “The family is in a state of shock. Vedant along with his parents and grandparents had come to Murud for a picnic. His father has sustained a fracture in the leg and has been admitted to a hospital,” he said.

Meanwhile, the parasail operator Sagar Chaulkar has been booked under Sections 304 A (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code.

“We have booked Chaulkar for negligence which led to the death of the young boy. Generally the revelers who opt for parasailing don’t wear helmets. Helmets are mandatory while doing these sorties. In this case, the owner told them about the helmets, but did not insist. If they had worn helmets, this tragedy could have been averted.It is the first case of its kind reported in Murud,” he said.

Raigad superintendent of police, Anil Paraskar said that a case of negligence had been lodged against the parasailing service provider and confirmed the death of the 15-year-old.

First Published: May 26, 2019 04:56 IST