Body of 7-year-old boy who drowned in Thane creek found in Airoli

The body of the seven-year-old boy who drowned in Thane creek last Wednesday was found on Monday near Airoli in Navi Mumbai; a group of fishermen accompanied by two fire rescue officials were searching his body along the entire Thane creek side using boats; finally, on Monday at around 5.15pm, they found the boy’s body floating along the Airoli creek

The body of the seven-year-old boy who drowned in Thane creek last Wednesday was found on Monday near Airoli in Navi Mumbai. A group of fishermen accompanied by two fire rescue officials were searching his body along the entire Thane creek side using boats. Finally, on Monday at around 5.15pm, they found the boy’s body floating along the Airoli creek.

Rishi Usva’s father holding the photo of his deceased son. The body of the seven-year-old boy who drowned in Thane creek last week was found in Airoli on Monday. (PRAFUL GANGURDE/HT PHOTO)

The deceased, Rishi Usva, was cycling on the open terrace of his neighbour’s house near the creek along Khartan Road when he lost balance and fell. For the last five days, the Usva family was distraught. The family members were anxiously waiting for any news about the naughtiest member of the family to return.

“His father used to go by the creek side every morning and wait for some news from the boats that went looking for Rishi. Rishi’s mother is still hoping that he would be back healthy, although hopes of finding him safe become bleak with every passing day. Rishi’s younger sister was also waiting for her ‘partner in crime’ to join her to play. However, the news of finding his body left the Rishi family devastated,” said a relative of the family.

Since the child went missing, everyday three boats used to go in search of him. The search party included local fishermen, Thane Disaster Response Force personnel and fire brigade officials. On Monday evening, a boat with some local fishermen went for the search and the team found the boy’s body floating.

“It had become a daily exercise to look for the boy. Considering the force and flow of the water, we assumed that he must have been washed away towards Navi Mumbai and hence looked in that direction on a regular basis. On Monday evening, we noticed his body floating between Vitawa and Airoli. We immediately carried him in our boat and got him to Vitawa ghat and handed over to the local police,” said Rajesh Kharkar, a fisherman who often assists the disaster relief team with rescue operations.

“Around 5.40pm. Rishi’s body was handed over to Thane police, who took him to the Civil Hospital for further proceedings,” said an officer from Regional Disaster Management Cell, Thane.

Rishi’s father is a vegetable vendor. Rishi has left behind his 12-year-old brother and a younger sister.