IANS

Mumbai, Sep 4: At least 13 people have drowned in different parts of Maharashtra, including five in Mumbai, during the immersion of Ganesh idols, police said Friday.

In the worst incident, five volunteers of the Omkar Ganeshotsav Mandal, Goregaon, drowned during immersion at Versova Beach in northwest Mumbai Thursday - the 12th and final day of Ganesh Chaturthi festival - according to police.

Four of them have been identified as Anil Thakur, 40, Appa Sawle, 25, Deepak Kamble, 19, and Anil Kamble, 22, while the identity of the fifth victim is not yet known.

Mumbai sees millions participate in the immersion ceremonies on the last day of Ganesh Chaturthi.

In Nashik, two youths drowned in the raging waters of Godavari river.

Police said the body of another youth was recovered from the same river Thursday. However, investigations revealed that the victim had drowned in the river Wednesday in an incident that was not related to immersion ceremonies.

In Dhule district, two people drowned during immersion ceremonies at Hanuman Tekdi Dam. Two cousins, aged 17 and 15, drowned in Brahmantala Lake in Ahmednagar district. There was a drowning incident each in Gondia and Jalgaon districts, police officials said.

Besides these, at least 10 people were killed early Friday in a landslide at Saki Naka, in Andheri east suburb, north-west Mumbai.