Nashik: A massive tragedy has struck two families who had come to Nashik to enjoy their summer vacation. On Tuesday evening, four people drowned in the famous Kashyapi Dam, located on the Nashik-Harsul road. The deceased include a young civil engineer, his pregnant wife, and two neighbouring siblings. However, in this tragic incident, the life of a two-year-old girl from the Thombre family was saved thanks to the courage of a woman named Sangita Ghadge.
The deceased have been identified as Sachin Kailas Thombre (aged 32, a civil engineer), his pregnant wife Rohini Thombre, and their neighbours—siblings Ketan Pawar and Kaushalya Pawar. Sachin Thombre was originally a resident of Pimparne in Sangamner Taluka and had been residing at Mankar Mala (Makhmalabad Naka) in Nashik for the past two years.
On Monday, taking advantage of the school holidays, Sachin Thombre went to the Kashyapi Dam for an outing along with his wife, his two-year-old daughter, and the two neighbouring siblings. Around 5:00 PM, the entire group entered the dam waters to take a bath. Misjudging the depth and current of the water, one person began to drown. The other three rushed forward to save that person; however, due to the strong current, all four were pulled into the deep water and drowned.
During this horrific incident, the two-year-old daughter of the Thombre family was playing on the bank of the dam. When her parents disappeared from sight in the water, she became frightened, began to cry, and started walking toward the water. At that moment, Sangita Ghadge spotted her. Noticing a pair of slippers and belongings scattered along the bank, she immediately scooped up the girl and carried her away from the water. Alerted by the sound of the girl's crying, Sangita Ghadge raised an alarm, shouting loudly to summon people for help.
Villagers from Dhondgaon and Khadyachi Wadi rushed immediately to the scene of the incident. As a wrestling tournament was underway nearby, young men from that event plunged into the deep waters of the dam to commence a search operation. Thanks to the concerted efforts of local youths and hotel owners, the bodies of all four victims were recovered before nightfall. However, it was too late to save any of their lives.
To identify the deceased, relatives were contacted based on incoming calls received on the deceased woman's mobile phone. The Harsul police visited the site, recovered the bodies with the assistance of local villagers, and sent them to the Nashik District Government Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
This tragedy has cast a pall of gloom over the Nashik district. There is a growing sentiment regarding the need to raise awareness among both tourists and locals concerning the water depth and currents within the dam area. The police have initiated a further investigation into this matter.
