Tragedy strikes Ganesha puja as 3 die of drowning

Ganesha puja celebrations turned tragic for several families after reportedly three persons drowned in the Yamuna river on Wednesday evening.

The incident was reported from Yamuna Ghat in the national capital around 4 pm when 10 people lost their balance and slipped into the river. At the time of going to press, five people had been rescued and three bodies had been recovered. Two people had been missing and the hunt to save them was on.

In the evening at around 4 pm, the Delhi fire department received a call informing that some people who had come for Ganesh Visarjan have drowned near the Wazirabad Ghat.  

The fire department in turn informed the disaster management wing and a team of officers was immediately dispatched to the spot. According to a source, five persons out of 10 who lost their balance while immersing Ganesha idols into the Yamuna have been rescued, while three bodies have been found.

All five who were rescued were taken to a nearby hospital where three are undergoing treatment. ‘Two people are still missing and rescue operations are on,’ the source added. 

A fire department official, however, disputed these figures and said only two people had lost their balance and their bodies have been recovered from the river. ‘Only two persons drowned in the river but to ensure that no one else has drowned the rescue team is still working,’ the fire department official added.

Another official added that the identity of the people drowned is yet to be ascertained. 

‘The exact number of victims will be confirmed only on Thursday morning when the families of the victims who find their family members missing file a missing complaint to police,’ he said.

‘Till then the bodies that have been recovered will be kept in the mortuary,’ he added. The victims appear to be in their early twenties, the source said.

In September 2012, during Ganesh Visarjan, five people drowned at Wazirabad Ghat of river Yamuna in north Delhi.