NAVI MUMBAI: A 24-year-old man from Panvel drowned while swimming in the pool below Pandavkada waterfall in Kharghar on Thursday afternoon, despite a rescue operation by the CIDCO fire brigade amid heavy rain and a strong flow of water.
The deceased, Aditya Ramjeet Vishwakarma was a resident of Navnath Nagar in Forest Colony, Panvel, had reached Pandavkada around 1.30pm with his brother Ayush, 22, and two friends, police said. According to police, he entered the pool below the waterfall to swim but subsequently drowned.
His friends alerted the CIDCO fire station in Kharghar around 2.15pm. Following which, a fire vehicle and a team of firefighters rushed to the spot and began a rescue operation. The rescue team comprised CIDCO fire officer Prashant Darekar and firemen Suraj Patil, Pritam Patil, Chetan Pawar and Kaustubh Vaydande.
However, according to officials, heavy rain and the strong flow of water made the search difficult. Firefighters first used ropes to search the pool but could not locate Vishwakarma. They then entered the water and conducted a detailed search.
He was eventually found at a depth of around 10 to 12 feet, trapped in a rocky crevice. Firefighters pulled him out, placed him on a stretcher and carried him down the hill. He was handed over to an ambulance and rushed to a local hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, police said.
The Kharghar police have registered an accidental death report (ADR).
