A major accident took place in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat on Friday evening. At least eight people died due to drowning while bathing during Ganesh immersion in the Meshvo river here. Giving information about this, an official said that this accident happened in the river near Vasna Sogathi village of Dehgam taluka and all the deceased are from this village. At present, one team each of NDRF and SDRF is present on the spot.
SDM (Sub Divisional Magistrate) B.B. Modiya said that on receiving the information, the fire brigade and local swimmers as well as administrative officials reached the spot. After the accident, rescue workers recovered 8 bodies from the river with the help of local people and the search and rescue operation is going on.
The SDM said, ‘We have recovered eight bodies from the river. Since it is still not clear how many people had entered the water, the search is still on.’ He said that the water level of the river had increased considerably recently due to a check dam under construction at a short distance.
The reason for the accident is being told that a program of immersion of Ganeshji’s idol was going on in this river located near the village, during which some people started bathing and went into deep water. After which they died by drowning.
On the other hand, NDRF team commander Lakhan Lal Raghuvanshi, while giving information about the accident, said, ‘NDRF team is present on the spot. As soon as the collector expressed the possibility of 8 people drowning, we reached the spot. 8 people have been rescued by us but the local people have expressed the possibility of another person being missing. Divers have been sent down into the water from our side and it is being ascertained whether anyone else is there or not. The administration is also engaged in the rescue operation with us.’
Let us tell you that this is the fourth drowning accident in the state in the last 6 days, in which a total of 15 people have lost their lives so far. Earlier on Wednesday, 4 people died in Patan, 2 in Nadiad and 1 in Junagadh due to drowning.
(With agency input)
