BY: Bhaskar Mehare YAVATMAL: A woman and her two young daughters died after their Ertiga car was swept away by floodwaters while attempting to cross a submerged bridge in Maharashtra’s Darwha taluka. Her husband narrowly escaped after clinging to a tree in the flooded river.The deceased have been identified as Madhavi Avinash Khandare, Sachi Avinash Khandare and Prachi Avinash Khandare. The lone survivor, Avinash Khandare, managed to save himself after escaping from the sinking vehicle and taking refuge on a tree in the middle of the flooded river.The incident occurred near Daheli village on the Darwha–Arni road, where torrential rains that lashed Yavatmal district over the past two days caused the bridge over the Padan River to be submerged. Unable to assess the depth and force of the water in the darkness, Avinash attempted to drive across the bridge. However, the powerful current swept the vehicle off the bridge and into the river.According to family members, Avinash Khandare and his family had visited his wife Madhavi’s parental home in Ralegaon. After spending the day there, they had dinner and began their return journey late at night.Before heading home, they dropped off a relative and his wife at Bori Arab village. Around midnight, while travelling towards Loni via Darwha, they reached the flooded bridge near Daheli village.As the car was swept away, Avinash acted quickly and managed to escape from the moving vehicle. He grabbed hold of a tree in the river and even tried to save one of his daughters by holding her hand. However, the force of the floodwaters was so strong that she slipped from his grip and was carried away by the current.Stranded on the tree throughout the night, Avinash shouted for help. After receiving information about the accident, local villagers and disaster management rescue teams rushed to the spot.Despite the darkness and strong currents, rescuers launched an operation and safely brought Avinash down from the tree around 1:30 am. He was later admitted to a hospital for treatment.The search for the missing woman and two children resumed early Friday morning. Around 1:30 pm, all three bodies were recovered from the Bori Gosavi village limits in Yavatmal taluka. Police conducted post-mortem examinations before handing over the bodies to the grieving family.The tragic incident has cast a pall of gloom over the region. Emotional scenes were witnessed at the hospital and during the identification of the bodies, leaving relatives and locals devastated. Avinash and family members broke down in grief after seeing the bodies of his wife and two daughters.
