Botad: A tragic accident occurred late Sunday night near Godhavata village in Ranpur taluka, when an Ertiga car was swept away by strong floodwaters while attempting to cross a causeway. The vehicle, en route from Bochasan to Salangpur, was caught in a powerful water current around midnight.

Seven people were travelling in the car, all associated with the Salangpur BAPS temple. Of them, two lost their lives—Krishnakant Pandya (approx. 60 years) and Prabuddha Kachhiya (approx. 10 years), the son of the car’s driver, Divyesh Patel. Sant Shanticharit Swami remains missing, and a massive search operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been ongoing for over 13 hours.

The rescued individuals include Apoorvapurush Swami, Vivek Kapadia, Nikunj Sojitra, and Divyesh Patel, who managed to escape the submerged vehicle. The bodies of Krishnakant Pandya and young Prabuddha were later recovered, while only the slippers of Shanticharit Swami have been found—indicating he was caught in the current.

According to Barwala Prant Officer S.V. Chaudhary, the car was attempting to cross the Godhavata causeway when it was overrun by heavy water flow due to monsoon rains. “Four people survived. The bodies of two others have been recovered and sent for postmortem. One person is still missing. The NDRF is continuing its search, with drones deployed for aerial surveys up to a one-kilometre radius,” he said. DeshGujarat