Youth slips, drowns along deep stream on his day out at Mahuli waterfall

A 21-year-old man drowned at Mahuli waterfall in Shahapur while enjoying the monsoon; local rescue team recovered his body amid challenging conditions.

THANE: A 21-year-old man drowned after slipping into the Mahuli waterfall in Shahapur on Friday. The police, with help from a local rescue team, recovered the body on the same day.

Youth slips, drowns along deep stream on his day out at Mahuli waterfall

The deceased was identified as Shyamraj Durairaj, a Kurla resident. He and his friends visited the Mahuli waterfall to enjoy the monsoon. While playing in the water, he reportedly lost his balance and fell nearly 25 feet into the deep stream.

His friends alerted the local police immediately and called the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team for help. However, due to the heavy water flow, the NDRF team initially faced difficulty in locating the body. After some time, a local rescue team’s members -- Raghunath Agivale, Gurunath Agivale, and Yogesh Agivale -- managed to trace the body. With help from the police and villagers, they recovered it.

The local rescue team at Mahuli is said to have retrieved over 100 bodies from deep waters and gorges so far, often under extremely challenging conditions in the last five years.

Raghunath Agivale, a senior member of the rescue team, said that most of the monsoon rescues are different and risky. “The water currents are unpredictable and strong, especially during the monsoon. In this case, too, it took us hours of careful searching in dangerous conditions to locate and retrieve the body. But we feel we must help so that families get closure,” said Agivale.

The team is composed of local volunteers who know the treacherous terrain inside out. They often stepped in when formal agencies like NDRF faced logistical challenges due to difficulties arising from the complicated landscape and intense water flow. Despite limited resources and lack of formal recognition, the team continues to save lives and recover bodies, making them the unsung heroes of Mahuli.

The police sent Durairaj’s body to Shahapur sub-district hospital for post-mortem. The authorities urged tourists to exercise caution while visiting waterfalls and natural sites, especially during the monsoon season when water levels rise significantly.