The bodies of all five people who were swept away in a waterfall near Bhushi Dam in Pune’s Lonavala area were found on Monday, with the last missing person, a 4-year-old boy, being recovered in the evening, according to officials. The tragedy, which occurred around 12:30 PM on Sunday, involved a woman and four children. The bodies of three victims were recovered shortly after the incident, while the body of a girl was found on Monday morning.
“The body of Adnan Ansari was recovered this evening, after which the search operation was called off,” said Suhas Jagtap, senior inspector of Lonavala police station. The other victims included Shahista Liaqat Ansari (36), Amina Adil Ansari (13), and Umera Adil Ansari (8), whose bodies were found by rescuers a few hours after the search began on Sunday. On Monday, police, Navy divers, and other rescue teams resumed their efforts and recovered the body of Mariya Ansari (9) from a reservoir near the accident site.
A video of the incident showed about 9-10 people clinging to each other as water surged downhill, eventually sweeping away a woman, a boy, and then a girl as their grip loosened. In the video, bystanders could be heard encouraging the group to hold on until help arrived.
The deceased were part of a group of 16-17 relatives from Sayyad Nagar in Hadapsar, Pune, who had come to Lonavala for a one-day picnic. They were caught off guard when the water level rose suddenly due to intense rainfall, leaving them stranded. A relative mentioned that the family members had traveled from Mumbai for a wedding a couple of days earlier and had hired a bus for the picnic.
Bhushi Dam is a popular tourist destination in the Pune region, especially during the monsoon season. However, police noted that warnings against venturing into the water are often ignored by visitors. On the day of the incident, an estimated 50,000 people visited Lonavala amid the rains, highlighting the challenges of managing such a large number of tourists in hazardous weather conditions.
