Overview
- The victims were swept under while bathing in the spillway/backwaters of Gangapur Dam and were recovered by villagers and local youths after rescue attempts on Thursday.
- Police identified the dead as Ganesh Suresh Gotarne (16), Sahil Manohar Gotarne (16), Nikhil Machhindra Gotarne (16) and Mayuri Pavan Jadhav (21).
- Reports say sudden depth changes and hidden deep pits below an apparently shallow surface pulled multiple people under when one youth began to struggle.
- The bodies were taken to the District Government Hospital for post-mortems and Harsul police registered a case of accidental death while an injured woman rescued at the scene was hospitalized.
- The incident has renewed local appeals for caution at popular dam sites after another fatal drowning in the Nashik area about 15 days earlier and could prompt tighter safety messaging or controls at Gangapur Dam.