7 women drown, 13 hurt after tractor falls in lake

Nashik: Seven women drowned while 13 others were injured when the trailer of their tractor fell into a reservoir in Anjan Vadel village of Malegaon tehsil on Tuesday night.

Due to the darkness, it was difficult to rescue or extricate the women from the nearly 25-feet deep reservoir. Rescue operations continued late into the night with police and rescue personnel reaching the spot with searchlights, sources said.

According to sources, a tractor trolley carrying about 20 to 25 women labourers overturned when the wall of the Dhavali-Vihiri reservoir, adjoining the road, caved in.

The injured women have been taken to Malegaon Civil Hospital for treatment. The 22 women were from Vadel village and were working as labourers in the surrounding farms of Mohn Ahire area. They were returning in the evening when the accident occurred.

The Vadner Khakurdi police identified the deceased women as Ushabai Ganesh Bhadane, Sangita Gorakh Bhadane, Rohini Raman Shelar, Ashabai Jagannath Malke, Sunanda Raghunath Shelar, Sangita Kishor Mahajan and Ranjana Kisan Mahale.

A young labourer, Nikita Sonawane (17), managed to swim out from lake and began shouting for help, which alerted the villagers.

Villagers rushed to the spot and along with the local tehsildar. Soon a fire brigade team and police rushed to the spot and began the rescue operations. They fished out the dead bodies from the lake.