VALPOI/BICHOLIM: A woman who had gone to wash clothes on the bank of the Valvanti river at Shiroli–Keri, drowned as she accidentally slipped and fell into the water.

According to information from the police, Saraswati Babuso Gawas (55), a resident of Shiroli-Keri, of the Sattari taluka, accidentally slipped and fell into the river, while she was washing clothes and was carried away by the fast flowing current. The incident took place at around 2 p.m. on Thursday.
Another woman who had accompanied her raised the alarm, which brought the villagers to the bank. However, no rescue attempt was possible due to the swift current. The water level too had risen due to the incessant rains that have fallen over the last few days.
The villagers contacted the police at the Keri outpost, who in turn informed the Valpoi fire force, which swung into action and after a three-hour search, located and recovered the body of the woman, which had been carried by the current to about 2 kms away from the accident spot.
Valpoi police sub inspector, Mr Chandrakant Naik conducted the panchanama under the supervision of PI, Mr Harichandra Madkaikar. The body was later referred to the GMC for an autopsy, and a case of unnatural death was registered.
Meanwhile, in another incident a cow which had fallen into a 10-meter-deep trench at Mauxi Sattari, was rescued by the personnel of the
Valpoi fire force.