TEAM HERALD
PONDA: In a tragic twist to their summer vacation three minors, including two siblings and their cousin, who had come to holiday in Goa, drowned while they ventured into the Collem river while the mother of one of the children was washing clothes.
The tragedy occurred, behind the Collem police station, when a group of five children along with the mother of one child, her two nephews and two other children had gone to the river to wash clothes.
The drowning deaths shocked not only the two sisters, who had come with their children to their brother’s house at Collem to spend their holidays, but also the locals.
Collem Police Inspector Jivba Dalvi along with locals said that this is the first time he saw a tragic incident involving children.
According to the Collem PI the children of two sisters –one named Mangan Basavraj residing at Bandra-Mumbai, having daughter Mehak Basavraj Kodangali (12) and son Mahantesh Basavraj Kodangali (6) and her sister Kashibai Nandkire residing at Bagewadi Bijapur with her son Rutik Nandkire (14) had come to their brother’s residence at Collem to spend their summer vacation.
Dalvi said the incident took place around 12.45 pm. Kashibai Nandkire along with her son Rutik and two nephews Mahantesh, Mehak and two other children had come to the river to wash clothes. Since the water in river appeared to be shallow Kashibai was busy washing clothes and failed to notice that all the children had ventured to a part of the river which was deep. Only when the two other children who were on the river bank began shouting that the three children were drowning that Kashibai realised it and immediately started screaming for help. The locals rushed for rescue and fished out the children who were brought to Government primary Hospital at Usgao where doctors declared them brought dead. The bodies of three children has been sent to Goa Medical College for post mortem.
