In Maharashtra, seven people drowned in two separate incidents yesterday. While three women devotees died in Pandharpur, four people, including three women and one man, died in Ratnagiri. In Pandharpur, three female devotees drowned in the Chandrabhaga River. Two of the deceased were identified as Sunita Sapkal and Sangeeta Sapkal, both residents of Bhokardan taluka in Jalna district. The women had entered the river near the Pundalik temple, as part of their religious ritual to take a holy bath.

At the time, water was being released from the Ujani Dam into the Chandrabhaga River, and the rising water levels caught the devotees off guard. Despite attempts to rescue them, the two women lost their lives, and authorities are still searching for a third woman who was also part of the group. The bodies of the deceased have been sent to the district hospital for post-mortem and further investigation. In Ratnagiri, four people drowned while swimming in the Are-Ware sea, a tourist spot.

The four people include three women and one man, as their bodies have been recovered. The two women Ujma and Umera Shamshuddin Sheikh had come from Mumbra to their relatives in Oswalnagar in Ratnagiri city. They had gone for a walk on the Aarey beach. After entering the sea, all four drowned within a few minutes due to the unpredictable waves and water. Efforts by locals and the coast guards to save them were unsuccessful. District Superintendent of Police Nitin Bagate has appealed to tourists not to venture into the rough sea to avoid such an accident.