Picnic turns tragic: Kid & uncle slip off hill in Panvel, heads hit rock & die | Navi Mumbai News – Times of India

NAVI MUMBAI: A family picnic ended in tragedy after a child and his uncle fell to their death off a mossy precipice at Panvel on Wednesday. The two — Pradeep Kami (7) and Paras Kami (35) — both residents of Sukhapur village, also in Panvel, had gone to Adai waterfall with five family members when they fell some 25-30 feet and banged their heads on the rocks as they rolled down.
The police said that visits to all waterfalls in Panvel taluka have been banned during monsoon considering the number of tragedies that have taken place and cops have been deployed to prevent picnickers from reaching the waterfall. “But these two families dodged cops deployed at the entrance… They climbed from the back to reach the waterfall,” said am officer.
Around 5pm, the little boy ran ahead of others and reached the hilltop, when he slipped on the rocks. His uncle rushed ahead to pull him to safety, but he too slipped while grabbing the child, said senior inspector Chandrakant Landge of Khandeshwar police station, where an accidental death has been recorded.
“As he caught hold of the boy, both lost their balance and fell down from the top of the waterfall, sliding down the rocky surface and landing at the base,” said an officer.
Both sustained grievous head and body injuries and fell unconscious. On realising what had happened, their family members climbed down the hill and alerted the cops on duty at the entry point. The police rushed the injured boy and the uncle to Panvel sub-district hospital, in a police jeep where doctors declared the two as ‘brought dead’.
Inspector Landge said that in spite of displaying warning boards, people sneak in and risk their lives. As a safety measure, police personnel have been deployed at the entry pathway leading to the waterfall, an officer said, adding that it is not possible to post police personnel everywhere.