8 killed after pick-up van falls into unsecured well in Maharashtra’s Solapur

Santosh Walke, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Akluj division, Solapur, said, “The accident took place on the Satara-Pandharpur Highway in Tandulwadi village of Malshiras taluka in Solapur district. The deceased are natives of Pandharpur and were returning from Mhaswad in Satara in a pick-up vehicle. Prima facie probe suggests that the driver lost control and the vehicle fell into the well on the roadside. Further probe is on.”

According to residents, no action was taken even after repeated complaints to the aiuthorities regarding the lack of safety measures around the well. Sarjerao Chavan, a villager, told reporters, “The well did not have a protective wall… Officials paid no heed to my complaints,” he said.

Madha MP Dhairyasheel Mohite-Patil said, “We had sent multiple letters and held meetings, but there has been no action. Accidents happen every month, and the government continued to ignore our repeated complaints.”

However, Kulkarni said, “It is a farm well, at a lower level than the road. So a small protective wall woule be ineffective. The vehicle plunged after the driver lost control.”

The incident comes two months after a vehicle fell into an unsecured well in Dindori area of Nashik district, killing nine of a family. On April 2, a car fell into a well located in the middle of a 100-foot-wide concrete road in Dindori area of Nashik, killing nine of a family. Six of the deceased were children.