Eight devotees, including women and children, died on Sunday after their pickup van plunged into a roadside well near Tandulwadi village in Solapur district, Maharashtra. The group was returning from Siddhanath temple in Mhaswad when the accident occurred. Seven others were injured and rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.
Authorities reported that the driver lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road and fell into the open well. Rescue teams, assisted by locals, used cranes to retrieve the mangled van and pull out the victims. Solapur Collector S. Karthikeyan and SP Atul Kulkarni supervised the operation on site.
The deceased included four women and four children, identified as Indubai Dashrath Bavche, Pooja Amol Satore, Pooja Balaji Bavche, Ashwini Sandip Bavche, Sanskar Sandip Bavche, Sanskruti Sandip Bavche, Aarav Amol Satore, and Samarth Balaji Bavche. Their families have been provided immediate relief measures.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the tragedy, announcing ₹2 lakh compensation for each deceased’s family and ₹50,000 for the injured from the PMNRF. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also declared ₹5 lakh aid per deceased and assured medical care for survivors, calling the incident “tragic and heartbreaking.”
The accident has reignited concerns about road safety and unprotected wells along highways and village roads. Similar incidents in Nashik and Nanded in recent years have prompted calls for protective barriers and stricter safety measures to prevent such recurring tragedies.
