The monsoon is in full swing and seems to show no signs of calming down any time soon. I usually love the rains and can’t get enough. But, even the most ardent pluviophile has got to be yearning for some sunshine by now. The rains have pretty much turned our roads into streams in some places. And as for actual streams, they’ve redefined the term ‘raging’.
For one family in Mumbai, this extremist effect on streams nearly cost them their lives. They have a few good Samaritans to thank for living to tell the tale.
A family of four had a near-death experience as the car they were travelling in, swerved off a bridge and into the rain-swollen Ghot, a tributary of the Kasadi river.
Thanks to the timely intervention of five villagers, Ashraf Shaik and family were rescued from drowning in the overflowing waterbody. Ashraf (37), his wife Hamida (33), daughter Suhana (7) and niece Namira (17), who are residents of Wavanje village, were travelling towards Taloja when disaster struck.
Speaking to Times of India, Ashraf says:
“We were travelling to my brother’s residence at Taloja by car. Around noon, I could not clearly see the road due to the incessant downpour. I cannot recollect what exactly happened after I swerved to take the bridge. The car flipped twice before it got trapped between boulders inside Ghot.”
Narayan Patil, Lahu Patil, Laxman Dhumal and Tushiram Nighukar from Ghot village, and Rupesh Patil from Karole village sprung to the rescue of the drowning family. They broke the windshield of the sinking car and pulled out the family onto the car’s roof.
A dramatic video of the rescue shows the family sitting on the rooftop as the locals bring them to safety with a rope, one by one.
Senior Inspector Ajay Landge described the incident as such:
Save for a few minor injuries sustained by the women, due to glass splinters, the family is unharmed and well.
Watch the video of their rescue here:
Kudos to the five men who sprung to action right on time. If not for them, the family may have been swept off into the waters before the arrival of the authorities.