9, including 4 school children, die in 2 incidents of drowning

Officials from Pune Rural police said that in the incident at the backwaters of Chaskaman dam on Bhima river, four students — two boys and two girls — drowned around 4pm while in the incident at Bhatghar dam on Velvandi river, five women aged between 19 and 23 drowned after they entered the backwaters around 5pm. All the five bodies were reported till the last reports came in.

In the incident at Chaskaman dam backwaters in Khed taluka, students from Sahyadri International School of Krishnamurti Foundation had gone to Gundalwadi area. Some of the students entered the water for a swim when four of them drowned. Local residents rushed to the spot to rescue them as the other students raised an alarm. By the time help could reach them, the four had drowned.

The deceased students have been identified as Ritin Diddi, Navya Bhosle, Parikshit Agarwal, and Tanishka Desai. Inspector Satishkumar Gurav, in-charge of Khed police station, said, “Primary information suggests that these students had come to the area for an outing after finishing their Class 10 exams.”

Superintendent of Police for Pune Rural jurisdiction Abhinav Deshmukh said, “In the Chaskaman backwaters incident, bodies of all four students have been recovered. The students may have drowned for failing to guage the depth while in the waters.” Police officials said that school authorities and families of these students were informed immediately after the incident.

In the incident at Bhatghar dam in Bhor taluka of Pune district, the five women were part of a groups of relatives who had come to the nearby Naregaon village for a wedding, said Deshmukh. Late in the afternoon, the group of five came to the Bhatghar dam area for an outing and entered the waters.

Inspector Sachin Patil, in-charge of Rajgad police station said, “Where the women entered the water, there is a patch with greater depth. The women may not have been able to correctly judge the depth. After initial efforts by local residents, a team of search and rescue experts was called. All the bodies have been retrieved.”

Police have identified the deceased women as Khushboo Lankesh Rajput (19), Chandni Shakti Rajput (21), Poonam Sandeep Rajput (22), and Monika Rohit Chauhan (23), and Manisha Lakhan Rajput (21).

After the incidents, local officials from the district administration and police rushed to the spot. Police officials said the sequence of events leading to both the incidents will be probed thoroughly and statements of those present at the time of the incident will also be recorded. “We will also be speaking to the administration of the school of the deceased students,” an officer said.