Five feared drowned at waterfall near Lonavala's Bhushi Dam

A woman and two children drowned in a waterfall close to the backwater of Bhushi Dam in Pune's Lonavala area on Sunday, while two children in the 4-9 age group are missing, a police official said.

The incident happened at 12:30pm when a family was out for a picnic at the scenic spot, after which search and rescue teams rushed there, Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Pankaj Deshmukh said.

"It seems they slipped into a waterfall some two kilometres away from Bhushi Dam and drowned at the reservoir downstream," the SP said.



Police said the bodies of Shahista Ansari (36), Amima Ansari (13) and Umera Ansari (8) were fished out while Adnan Ansari (4) and Maria Sayyad (9) are missing.

"Members of the Ansari family from Hadapsar area had gone to Bhushi Dam for a picnic. They went to see the waterfall close to the dam but were taken unawares when the water flow rose due to intense rain in the area and were swept away. Search operations have been called off for the day and will resume on Monday morning," the Lonavala police station official said.