TUESDAY, MAY 07, 2024
Team Herald
CORTALIM: On the night of July 27th Harley Araujo had gone to bed early wanting to sleep it off and be fresh for this birthday. At midnight he was woken up to the sound of firecrackers burst by his brother and his partner who then asked him to get into their car, with another friend and head to Panjim to bring in his birthday in style.
A little after an hour since Harley woke up, the car he was speeding to Panjim, driven by his brother Henry with his partner, Priscilla (Pupul) and a buddy Austin, due to get married next month, all from Loutolim in Salcete, spun off the road, while overtaking on the Zuari Bridge. The vehicle swerved to the right, crashed against the bridge railings and fell in to the river, hitting the muddy bed, killing all of them.
He would have got many birthday messages undelivered to this phone, on a day that will become his death anniversary from a year on. Pupul meanwhile left behind a 12-year-old son who woke up on Thursday morning in Loutolim looking for his mother. Austin among others had a fiancée waiting to start a new life. But all ended as their lives went down the river.
This is the human face of a tragedy, which goes beyond the details of the incident and the rescue.
For the record, the victims have been identified as Priscilla Mary Tavares Cruz affectionately called Pupul, her partner Henry Araujo, his brother Harley Araujo and a close friend Austin Fernandes.
The tragedy occurred at around 1.05 am on Thursday when the car number GA-08-K-8334 driving at break-neck speed, climbed the footpath, broke the Zuari Bridge railings, and fell into the water. The onlookers said that the driver was trying to overtake a vehicle on the bridge when the mishap occurred.
On getting the information, the police from Agasaim and Verna Police Stations and fire personnel rushed to the spot but could do little making the rescue operation difficult due to darkness and high tide.
On Thursday morning the police sought the help of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard and launched an extensive search operation to locate the vehicle.
After nearly 10-12 hours of strenuous efforts, the Navy divers using dip cameras and sound sensing equipment located the ill-fated vehicle in the waters and retrieved it along with four bodies by using a floating crane, which was mounted in a ferryboat and bought it to the shore.
As the doors of the vehicle were locked, it was cut open by a gas cutter and the four bodies were handed over to the police. The close family members of the victims were also present at the site.
The Agasaim Police conducted the panchanama and sent the bodies to the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC), Bambolim for post-mortem examination. Pupul’s post-mortem was conducted and the body was handed over to relatives. The other three postmortems will be conducted on Friday
The SUV was owned by the woman but at the time of the accident, it was driven by Henry, her partner Pupul, as his body was lying on the steering, according to the police.
Since Wednesday midnight the police and others were trying to ascertain the details, which were cleared on Thursday morning when Nuvem MLA Aleixo Sequeira, who is a close family friend of Pupul, said four persons from Loutolim were missing and that the vehicle and their mobile phone were unreachable.
Reacting to the tragedy Director General of Police (DGP) Jaspal Singh said, "It is an unfortunate accident. It appears to be a case of high speed and drunk driving resulting in a fatal accident. The observation is subject to post-mortem report and examination."
"It is a case of negligent driving and a self-accident, “the DGP said after overseeing the rescue operation along with officers of central agencies.
