With rains lashing parts of Maharashtra over the past few days, Latur district has experienced devastating rainfall and severe flooding.

In the early hours of Saturday, the bodies of five people who were swept away amid heavy rains in Latur were recovered after nearly 40 hours of search operations, officials said. The search effort involved teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire brigade, and police.

The tragic events began on Tuesday morning when 27-year-old Sudershan Kerba Ghonshetty drowned in the Tirru River while returning from the fields. Later that day, five people traveling in an autorickshaw were swept away by strong currents as water gushed over a bridge in Jalkot taluka. Three passengers were rescued, but two remained missing.

The autorickshaw was reportedly headed to Malhipparga when the incident occurred around 8 pm. Officials confirmed that the bodies of Ghonshetty, autorickshaw driver Sangram Sonkamble, and passenger Vitthal Gavle were recovered on Thursday after the extensive search. The bodies of Vaibhav Pundalik Gaikwad (24) from Udgir and Sangeeta Murhari Suryavwanshi (32) were later found in Dongargaon Lake.

Latur has been battered by relentless rains for the past two days, resulting in significant damage to crops and houses. An official estimated the losses in the district to be around Rs 480 crore, although a detailed damage assessment is yet to be completed.

Earlier, on September 16, three people died, and more than 120 were evacuated due to heavy rains in Maharashtra. Last week, five out of eight districts in the Marathwada region experienced heavy rainfall. Beed recorded the highest rainfall at 143.7 mm, followed by Nanded with 131.6 mm, and Jalna with 121.4 mm within a 24-hour period ending Tuesday morning.

Rivers flowed in spate, and low-lying areas were flooded, disrupting normal life. Beed and Ahilyanagar were among the worst affected areas, according to the latest updates shared by the Maharashtra state government.

(With inputs from PTI)
https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/maharashtra-rains-five-dead-in-latur-floods-amid-extreme-rainfall-23594946