Mumbai:

A person, a girl, and youngsters clinging on to them for help in the midst of a raging waterfall in Lonavala close to Mumbai have been swept away by the gushing waters. Solely two of them managed to swim again.

The household of seven have been holidaying within the hill station simply 80 km from Mumbai. Three our bodies have been recovered to this point and the search and rescue op will resume at dawn tomorrow.

Like lots of of vacationers who throng this hill city throughout the monsoons, the household went picnicking on the waterfall close to the backwaters of the Bhusi Dam this afternoon. Heavy rains within the area since early morning precipitated the dam to overflow, which elevated the circulation of water within the waterfall.

Terrifying visuals of the household’s final minutes confirmed them standing on a rock in the midst of the rhapsodic falls, holding on to one another and hoping to maneuver in opposition to the tide and onto the land.

In lower than a minute, the sheer power of the speeding water overpowered them and swept them away downstream as they screeched and screamed for assist.

The opposite vacationers additionally gathered on the banks and referred to as for assist, however the speeding waters made it not possible for anybody to leap to their rescue.

The incident occurred round 1:30 pm in the present day. Locals and the police rushed to the spot and commenced searching for survivors with ropes and trekking gear.

In line with the police, the vacationers slipped right into a waterfall and drowned within the reservoir downstream, information company PTI reported. Locals stated they might have slipped on the mossy boulders they have been standing on on the base of the falls and obtained swept away by the power of the water, reported information company IANS.

The accident has triggered issues over safety preparations within the waterfall and the Bhusi dam downstream.

One other purported video from the identical place confirmed lots of sitting on the sting of the dam and its wall as water flowed in. Meals stalls have been seen in the midst of the waterfall as vacationers revelled within the gushing waters, unperturbed by any issues about safety. No safety association was additionally seen within the space to cease the vacationers from going into the realm. NDTV nonetheless could not independently confirm the authenticity of the video.