Three members of a family from Nirgudsar village in Ambegaon tehsil of Pune district were among the 25 dead in the accident on Samruddhi Expressway in Buldhana on Saturday. According to a close relative, their bodies were found in a “tight embrace”.
The victims are identified as Kailash Gangawane, 52, an English teacher at Dattatray Govindrao Walse Patil Mahavidhylay in Nirgudsar; his wife Kanchan, 41, and their daughter Rutuja, 21, who was an Ayurvedic doctor.
According to Kailash’s cousin Rupesh Gangawane, the three of Gangawane family were returning home after dropping their son Aditya off to Nagpur, where he secured admission to a law college.
“One of our relatives, who is in the police department, identified the bodies of the three after he reached the spot. He found the three of them in a tight embrace. Till the last moment of their life, they were together,” said Rupesh.
The news of the ill-fated bus panicked Kanchan’s brother Amar Kale, a former president of the Baramati Advocate’s Association. His worst nightmare was awaiting on the other side of the call when he dialled the travel agency. “When I told them the names of the family members, the agency confirmed that they were on board the bus,” said Amar, who is now on his way to Buldhana for the DNA testing of the bodies.
“My nephew Aditya is also reaching Buldhana,” said Kale, recalling, “I remember my sister’s family was happy and proud about their son’s admission to a law college because of which they visited Nagpur for the first time. This incident is unimaginable for our family and the pain is beyond words.”
