24-Year-Old Panvel Resident Drowns at Pandavkada Waterfall in Kharghar

A 24-year-old man from Panvel drowned while swimming in the pool below Pandavkada waterfall in Kharghar on Thursday afternoon, despite a rescue operation carried out by the CIDCO fire brigade amid heavy rain and a strong water flow.

The deceased, identified as Aditya Ramjeet Vishwakarma, was a resident of Navnath Nagar in Forest Colony, Panvel. According to the police, Vishwakarma had reached Pandavkada at around 1.30pm along with his 22-year-old brother Ayush and two friends. He entered the water pool below the waterfall to swim, but subsequently drowned.

His friends alerted the CIDCO fire station in Kharghar around 2.15pm. A fire vehicle and a team of firefighters were immediately dispatched to the spot to launch a rescue operation. The rescue team included CIDCO fire officer Prashant Darekar and firemen Suraj Patil, Pritam Patil, Chetan Pawar, and Kaustubh Vaydande.

Officials said the search proved difficult due to heavy rainfall and the strong flow of water. Firefighters initially deployed ropes to scan the pool but could not locate Vishwakarma. The personnel then entered the water to conduct a closer physical search.

Vishwakarma was eventually discovered trapped inside a rocky crevice at a depth of approximately 10 to 12 feet. Firefighters pulled him out, secured him on a stretcher, and carried him down the hill.

He was handed over to an ambulance team and rushed to a local hospital, where medical staff declared him dead on arrival, police confirmed.

The Kharghar police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) in connection with the incident.