Ganesh idol immersion: 13 dead in separate incidents in Maharashtra

Mumbai: At least 13 persons were killed, including nine due to drowning, during the Ganesh idol immersion processions in parts of Maharashtra, police said on Friday.

The immersion processions were taken out on Thursday on the occasion of Anant Chaturdashi, marking the end of the 10-day Ganesh festival. In some cities, including Mumbai, the processions continued till Friday afternoon.

In Nashik, three persons drowned in Panchvati and an equal number in Nashik Road area, a police official said.

A six-year-old boy was killed at Chunchale Shivar near Ambad MIDC in Nashik city around 10 pm on Thursday after being hit by a tractor that was part of an immersion procession, he said.

According to police, Umbraj in Satara district, Wajirabad in Nanded district and Karjat in Raigad district neighbouring Mumbai reported one death each due to drowning.

In Ratnagiri district in the Konkan region, two persons were killed when a tempo ploughed into an idol immersion procession after the vehicle’s brake failed, they said.

A 17-year-old girl and the tempo’s driver were killed in the incident, they added.

In Juhu in the western part of Mumbai, a 16-year-old boy was rescued from the beach by lifeguards amid immersion on Thursday, but he was declared ‘dead on arrival’ by doctors at nearby civic-run Cooper hospital, the officials said.