5-year-old girl feared drowned in nullah in Bhiwandi

A five-year-old girl in Ajaminagar, Bhiwandi, is feared drowned in a nullah while she was playing with her friends; the disaster management team has begun looking for the girl; the flow of the nullah has increased owing to incessant rains; as a result, it was difficult to find her

A five-year-old girl in Ajaminagar, Bhiwandi, is feared drowned in a nullah while she was playing with her friends. The disaster management team has begun looking for the girl.

Water logging in Bhiwandi, Thane, on Friday. A five-year-old girl was feared drowned in a nullah in Bhiwandi. Search operations, which had to be abandoned on Friday due to darkness, will resume on Saturday. (HT FILE PHOTO)

The flow of the nullah has increased owing to incessant rains. As a result, it was difficult to find her.

The girl, identified as Gulnaz Ansari, was playing along with her friends outside her house. After playing hide-and-seek, the children started running and the girl reached the nullah. Due to heavy rain, the mud near the nullah was slippery. She slipped inside and was swept away.

One man who was near the nullah at the time of incident, Shahab Ansari, said, “I saw the children shouting near the nullah. I saw the girl being swept away in the heavy flow of water. The level of the water had swelled up to the bridge over the nullah. We immediately informed the disaster management team and the search began within half-an-hour but unfortunately she couldn’t be found.”

An officer at Nijampura police station, who reported the incident, said, “Our team, along with the fire brigade officials, were on the spot in search of the girl but as it was getting dark, we couldn’t find her. We will start searching again early on Saturday morning.”

Meanwhile, a 30-year-old electrician of a private company, who was doing some maintenance work on an electric pole along with his colleague, was stuck in the flowing water near Bhiwandi Khadi in Kamba Village area. One of them knew swimming, so he came out safely but the 30-year-old drowned. Bhiwandi Taluka police confirmed the incident and search for the man, which was stopped for the day, will resume on Saturday.