A heart-wrenching video call from her sister Merina, who was on a boat ride with her family on Bargi Dam reservoir, 35km from Jabalpur, was the last time Treeza Chauhan (36) spoke to her. Merina was hysterical, shouting and crying that they were drowning, before the call got disconnected.
Merina (39) was on board with her parents Julius (70) and Madhu Massey (62), her husband Pradeep Kumar Verma (39), their daughter Siya (14) and son Trishan (4). When rescuers pulled Merina and Trishan from the water on Friday, they were still together - mother and son inside the same life-jacket, locked in an embrace.
Pradeep told Hindustan Times: “As storm winds battered the vessel, water rushed in. A man and I broke the lock to get life jackets. My daughter and I wore jackets and were saved with ropes. The last I saw was Merina helping Trishan wear his jacket when the boat capsized. She hugged him inside hers. I lost everything in this tragedy.”
The family of six had left Delhi on Tuesday to attend the housewarming of Pradeep’s brother in Jabalpur, and decided to take the boat ride on Thursday before returning home on Saturday.
