Pune: Two boys, aged 12 and 8, drowned in a farm pond at Ballalwadi in Junnar taluka, about 95 km from Pune, on Tuesday. The bodies were retrieved by a rescue team and Pune Rural police and later sent for post-mortem. The deceased have been identified as Soham Navale (12) and Vighnesh Pawar (8), both residents of Ballalwadi.
An officer from the Otur police told TOI that the farm pond is located near Ballalwadi and is about 50 feet deep. Construction work is ongoing around the pond. Around 12:30 pm, Soham Navale, his brother Kartik, and Vighnesh Pawar went towards the pond. "Soham tried to enter the pond holding a rope tied to a pole there. But the rope snapped and he fell into the pond. Vighnesh immediately jumped into the water to save him. However, both started drowning," the officer said.
Kartik, Soham's brother, immediately alerted people in the area. Some of them jumped into the pond in an attempt to rescue the boys. The police and a rescue team were also informed. "We recovered Soham's body within 15 minutes, while Vighnesh's body was traced after an hour," the officer added.
