Kolhapur: What was supposed to be an ordinary Tuesday turned into a tragic day for two families in western Maharashtra's Kolhapur district. Two separate drowning incidents claimed the lives of a 30-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy, both occurring in the presence of their loved ones.
First Incident: Woman Dies After Two-Wheeler Falls into Well
In the first incident, Mayuri Benke, a resident of Daryache Vadgaon in Karvir tehsil, drowned after the two-wheeler she was riding skidded off the road and plunged into a nearby well. Her husband, Vishal Benke, who was riding pillion, survived the accident and is currently undergoing treatment at CPR Hospital.
According to an officer from the Ispurli police station, Mayuri was on her way to see a doctor with her husband. While passing a well located about 10 feet from the road, a piece of flying debris entered her eye, causing her to lose control of the two-wheeler. The couple fell into the well along with the vehicle. The well had no protective wall around it, making the accident more severe.
Vishal, who can swim, tried to locate his wife in the water but failed. He managed to climb out of the well and alerted relatives and nearby residents. A search operation was launched, and Mayuri's body was eventually recovered. The police reached the spot, conducted a panchanama, and registered an accidental death case. The couple had dropped their two young daughters at a relative's home before heading to the doctor, the police added.
Second Incident: Boy Drowns in Panchaganga River
In the other incident, Ujjwal Gangaram Badiger, a 12-year-old boy, died after drowning in the Panchaganga river near the Rajaram barrage in Kasba Bawda. The Shahupuri police reported that Ujjwal had gone to the barrage with his father and elder brother on Tuesday afternoon for a swim.
His father, a floor installer originally from Gokak in Karnataka, was at the riverbank when Ujjwal fell from the barrage onto rocks. The boy suffered a severe head injury and lost consciousness before drowning, the police said. Upon hearing his brother's cries, some local residents and members of the Kolhapur Disaster Management Force reached the spot and pulled Ujjwal out of the water. He was rushed to CPR Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. The police registered a case of accidental death.
