Heart-rending tragedy: Farmer, two sons crushed to death as well collapses

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A family’s joy over striking water in their well during peak summer turned into an unimaginable tragedy on Saturday night.

A farmer and his two sons were crushed to death after a newly constructed portion of their well collapsed while they were inside attempting to start a faulty electric pump. The incident occurred around 9.30 pm at Dhanora village in Sillod tehsil.

The deceased have been identified as Bajirao Kakade (49), Shyam Kakade (22) and Ajinath Kakade (26), all residents of Dhanora. The family resided at a farm settlement nearly one kilometre from the village. Work on the well had been underway for the past month. Though the soil extended up to nearly 50 feet, lining had reportedly been done only up to 25 feet, and merely 14 rings were constructed above. On Saturday night, when the electric pump failed to start, the trio descended into the well with the help of a rope to fix the issue and sprinkle water over the newly built structure. Suddenly, the 14 rings along with loose soil caved in, burying all three beneath the debris.

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Wife raises alarm after midnight

When the three did not return home till midnight, Bajirao’s wife, Mirabai, went towards the well and found it collapsed. She raised an alarm, prompting villagers, relatives and Sillod rural police to rush to the spot and initiate rescue operations.

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Bodies recovered after six hours

From 1 am to 7 am, two poclain machines were deployed to clear the debris. The bodies were retrieved and shifted to the sub-district hospital in Sillod. After post-mortem, the last rites were performed at Dhanora at 11.30 am on Sunday amid a grief-stricken atmosphere.

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Family left shattered

Bajirao and Mirabai had two sons and a daughter. Ajinath was married and is survived by his wife Komal (24) and a one-year-old daughter, Shyam was unmarried. With the death of all three male members of the family, Mirabai, their married daughter Sanjivani Hadole, daughter-in-law Komal and little Sai are left behind, bringing the family lineage to an abrupt and tragic halt.