5 dead, 1 missing as cars swept away in Mahi river

Ahmedabad, Aug 2: Five people, including four from Ahmedabad, died after two cars were swept away by strong currents in the Mahi river. The tragedy occurred on Wednesday night.

Six persons were travelling in two cars, a Ford Figo and a Mahindra XUV 500, near Hadod village near Lunawada in Panchmahal district.

The people were on their way back to Ahmedabad and the mishap occurred when they tried to cross a low bridge on the Mahi river, which was submerged because of the high quantity of water released from Kadana dam in Rajasthan.

Since nobody witnessed the incident, it is yet to be ascertained how the vehicles were swept away by the river.

Local villagers, who had gone on the bank of the river on Thursday morning, spotted the two cars and bodies floating in the river.

They reportedly spotted the Ford Figo lying on the bank about 700 metres from the bridge and two bodies were found in the bushes. They were identified as Mukesh Gidwani from Maninagar and Bharat Jani from Satellite area.

When water started receding, the Mahindra XUV 500 was spotted partly submerged in the river. The body of Ghanshyam Pithani, a resident of Ghodasar, was found inside it.

From the details, it has emerged that Jani was with Jagdish Patel, a resident of Sankheda in Vadodara, in Ford Figo while Gidwani, Pithani and Rajni Parshottam Parmar, a resident of Jasodhanagar in Ahmedabad, were in the Mahindra XUV 500.

Jani and Patel had come to Lunawada to install a sound system at a theatre.

Gidwani, Pithani and Parmar had come to Lunawada for a work related to a leading cable television service provider.

The sixth person has been identified as Roger James, who was, reportedly travelling in the XUV, but no information about his whereabouts has come yet. The frantic search to find him is on by his family members, relatives and other authorities.

A cousin of Roger James said, "The rescue operation for my brother was shut at around 7 pm because of darkness . Today morning, it has commenced again."

According to sources, water was, apparently, released again from the Kadana dam on Thursday night.

OneIndia News