One drowns, 5 missing during immersion of Ganesh idols in Maharashtra

One Soma Shivanakar drowned in a pond while immersing an idol of Lord Ganesh this morning in Dolsar village of Bhandara district, an official said.

One person drowned and five others were missing during immersion of Lord Ganesh idols on Thursday at different places in Maharashtra, police said.

Devotees take part in a procession to immerse idols of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha in the Arabian Sea, marking the end of the 10-day long Ganesh Chaturthi festival at Lalbaugh in Mumbai.(HT Photo by Pratik Chorge)

The incidents were reported from Amravati, Bhandara and Satara districts and the missing persons are feared to have drowned, they said.

One Soma Shivanakar drowned in a pond while immersing an idol of Lord Ganesh this morning in Dolsar village of Bhandara district, an official said.

His body has been recovered, he said.

At Watole Shukleshwar village in Amravati district, at least four devotees were washed away while immersing Lord Ganesh idols in the Purna river, the official said.

Another devotee, Chaitnya Shinde (20), a resident of Malkapur, was feared to have drowned in the Koyana river at Karad in Satara district, the official said.

A search was on for the missing persons, he said, adding fire brigade life guards and state disaster management teams were taking part in the operation.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)