The 33-year-old victim was river rafting with husband on Kundalika River in Kolad, when the boat turned turtle. She was partially conscious when rescued, but couldn't be revived
Mahalaxmi Hariharan
Pune: A white river water-rafting experience on Kundalika River in Raigad’s Kolad village turned into a nightmare for a Pune couple, after their raft toppled, leading to the woman’s death.
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Mahalaxmi Hariharan with her husband Sreeram Nurani Subramaniyam. (below) July 24 issue in which mid-day had discussed the lack of accountability in the weekend-tourism industry in Maharashtra
The deceased has been identified as Mahalaxmi Hariharan (33), a resident of Pimpale Saudagar. A case of accidental death has been registered with the Kolad police station in Raigad district and police officials are investigating the case.
Hariharan, who hails from Chennai, worked as a journalist with a business newspaper in Mumbai, before moving to Pune, where she had joined a magazine as a senior reporter. Her husband, Sreeram Nurani Subramaniyam (35), survived the accident, but Harihan failed to combat the rapid river.
The incident took place at around 2.30 pm on Friday. Harihan was still conscious when she was rescued at 6 pm, and was rushed to a local health centre, where she was later declared dead. A post-mortem was conducted at the Pune-based Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital.
Manjusha Bhosale, assistant police inspector of Kolad police station said that Hariharan, along with her husband, and another couple had travelled to Mangaon in the Sutarwadi area of Raigad. “They had booked a resort that offers rafting facilities. The rafting began in four boats that were carrying a total of 25 people. Due to the sudden change in the water level, and the uncontrollable river flow, all the four rafts turned upside down,” said Bhosale.
“It seems that the victim was holding onto a tree branch, but was eventually sucked in by the swollen river. She was rescued a few hours later, and was rushed to the Ambewadi village health centre. The doctors tried to revive her, but she died soon after,” the officer added.
Mohammed Suvez Haque, superintendent of police, Raigad said, “Ideally rafting must not take place during monsoon. The couple had approached Daivya Adventure for the trip and a team is checking if safety measures were adhered to.”
When contacted, Virendra Sawant, who is part of Daivya Adventure, said that all safety precautions had been adhered to, when rafting. He also claimed that only one raft had turned turtle. “Our rescue team was trying to help Hariharan, but she preferred to hold on to the branch and refused to cooperate,” he said.
The original article printed in sunday midday issue dated August 7, titled, Woman Dies as Raft Overturns In River, carried a quote wrongly attributed to Andre Morris, President, Adventure Tour Operators of Maharashtra. The error is sincerely regretted.
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