Maharashtra, India

In a tragic incident on Tuesday (Apr 9), five members of the same family died in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra while rescuing a cat that had fallen into an abandoned well. The Ahmedabad district administration said the five bodies were removed from the well by late Tuesday night and one victim was rushed to a government hospital. The victim is in stable condition now.

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As per media reports, the well, located in Vakadi village of Newasa taluka, was filled with slurry of biogas by a farmer.

What happened?

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It all started when the cat fell into the abandoned well at around 5 pm on Tuesday. The victim family noticed the cat and decided to rescue it.

The five dead victims and the sixth injured had entered the well one after another to rescue each other as the situation went out of control.

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People nearby heard their noises as they complained of suffocation. The villagers managed to pull one person out but the rest five couldn’t be rescued immediately and authorities were informed.

Probe underway

Police Inspector Dhananjay Jadhav of Newasa police station told news agency ANI that a probe is underway in the matter.

"A rescue team recovered the dead bodies of five of the six people who jumped one after another into an abandoned well having animal waste stored while trying to rescue a cat. One person who entered the well with a rope tied to his waist survived and was later rescued by the police. He is under treatment in the hospital nearby. A probe is underway," he was quoted as saying.

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The rescue team took over five hours to complete the operation.

Reports said that the deceased have been identified as Manik Govind Kale, Sandeep Manik Kale, Bablu Anil Kale, Anil Bapurao Kale, Babasaheb Gaikwad.

(With inputs from agencies)