Heavy rains lash Latur, bodies of five persons found after 40 hours

Latur, Sep 20 (PTI) Bodies of five persons that were swept away amid heavy rains in Latur in Maharashtra have been recovered after search operations that lasted for almost 40 hours, officials said on Saturday.

On Tuesday morning, 27-year-old Sudershan Kerba Ghonshetty drowned in Tirru river while returning from the fields, while later that day five persons in an autorickshaw were swept away in strong currents as water gushed over a bridge in Jalkot taluka. Three of them were later rescued, while two others remained missing, they added.

The autorickshaw was headed to Malhipparga when the incident took place at 8pm, the official said.

"The bodies of Ghoshetty, autorickshaw driver Sangram Sonkamble and passenger Vitthal Gavle were recovered on Thursday after a 40-hour search. The bodies of Vaibhav Pundalik Gaikwad (24) from Udgir and and Sangeeta Murhari Suryavwanshi (32) were found in Dongargaon lake," an official said.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire brigade and police were involved in the rescue operations, he added.

Latur has been reeling under relentless rains for the past two days, damaging crops and houses.

An official pegged the losses in the district at Rs 480 crore, though he added that an exact figure would be had after detailed damage assessment. PTI COR BNM