Pune, Jul 20 (IANS): In a shocking case, three brothers died of Covid-19 in the past nine days, stunning their families and the people of Pimprigaon village near Pune, official sources said here on Monday.

The three brothers - Diliprao Kalapure, 61, Dnyaneshwar Kalapure, 63 and Popatrao Kalapure, 66 - were admitted to the same hospital in Pimpri-Chinchwad - where they succumbed in quick succession on July 10, July 15 and July 17, respectively.

The Kalapure family got the first shock on July 5 when one boy in the clan tested Covid-19 positive.

Later, another 17 members of the family also tested positive and they were all admitted together at a private hospital.

Diliprao was the first to be rushed to the ICU, followed by the other two brothers, and as they experienced breathing problems, all three were kept on ventilator.

Within the next nine days, the three brothers succumbed while under treatment, shocking the people of Pimprigaon and their families.

Popatrao was a retired civic employee and also an employees' union leader, while Dnyaneshwar served with the Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd and Diliprao retired from a pipe manufacturing company and both were professional wrestlers.