5 Members Of A Family, Including 3 Minors Drown In A Quarry

Five members of a family in India, three of them minors, drowned in a quarry while washing clothes along the banks of the water body.

The incident happened in Dombivali, Thane district, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on Saturday. The victims were identified as Mira Gaikwad, 55, her daughter-in-law Apeksha, 30, and her grandchildren Mayuresh, 15, Moksha, 13, and Nilesh, 13.

The other four members died while trying to save one of the accompanying children who accidentally fell into the quarry, NDTV reported citing the police. According to the outlet, the family was at the quarry to wash their clothes as their village has been facing an acute water supply crisis.

While they were busy washing clothes, the child accidentally slipped into the quarry, prompting four others to jump in. All five members of the family drowned.

"A woman and her daughter-in-law were washing clothes near the quarry when one of the woman's three grandchildren, who were sitting close by, apparently slipped into the water. The other four tried to rescue the child but they all drowned," a police official told NDTV.

The bodies were fished out and an accidental death case was registered at the nearby police station, the police official told NDTV.

"From prima facie, it looks like the first victim drowned, and to save him the others went into the water and they too drowned," J.D. More, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Dombivli Division, told India TV.

Villagers have resorted to using the quarry for activities like washing clothes due to the scarcity of water in the village, the Quint reported. A fire brigade was called to the scene. The bodies were sent to the hospital for autopsy.

In June 2020, three New Jersey family members drowned while trying to save a child who fell into a pool. The 8-year-old girl, identified as Sacchi Patel, accidentally slipped into the pool, prompting her 62-year-old grandfather, Bharat Patel, and her mother, Nisha Patel, 33, to jump in to save her. However, neither of them knew how to swim, and the situation culminated in a tragedy. The three members of the family were found unresponsive near the pool by emergency responders.