Mumbai: An 18-year-old girl, while clicking pictures with her two female friends on the rocks outside Bandra fort, slipped into the sea and drowned, along with a stranger, who jumped into the sea in a bid to save her on Saturday morning. The incident occurred at around 10.45 am while deceased Tarannum Ansari (18), a Govandi resident and her two friends Anjum Khan (19) and Masturi Wasim Ali Khan (19) were clicking selfies and photographs of each other on the rocks.
“It was high tide and a huge wave of water came above the rock they were standing on. Ms Ansari, who was dressed in a salwar, slipped as the rock got slippery,” said senior inspector Ramchandra Dhawale of Bandra police station. Ms Anjum and Ms Masturi too lost their balance. Ms Anjum was slipping, but Ms Masturi held her hand and started screaming for help.
While many chose to stare from a distance, braveheart Ramesh Rajaram Walanju, who was on his way to work, rushed towards them. Incidentally, Mr Walanju usually left for work at 9 am, but since it was a Saturday he had to report at 11 am. As per Ms Masturi’s statement, he helped the two and after learning that another had fallen, he kept his belongings on a rock and plunged in.
He went in deep, but unable to locate Ms Tarannum he tried to swim back to the rock and drowned in the process, said Ms Masturi in her police statement. Fire brigade officials, swimmers from BMC, two rescue boats of Mumbai police and a helicopter of Indian Coast Guard carried out operations till night, but couldn’t locate their bodies.
Ms Tarranum is survived by her mother and brother. Her father has passed away. She was a student of SNDT College in Ghatkopar. All three girls are Govandi residents and had gone for an outing.
