Biker dies, pillion rescued, as bike plunges into creek at Dhruvatara Jetty

The biker was carrying a bag, which may have weighed him down and prevented him from swimming to safety, police said

NAVI MUMBAI: In a tragic repeat of a July mishap, a biker accidentally rode into the creek at Dhruvatara Jetty in Belapur early Saturday morning. The 23-year-old biker drowned, but rescue officials managed to save the pillion rider.

Biker dies, pillion rescued, as bike plunges into creek at Dhruvatara Jetty

The deceased, Atharva Shelke, lived with his sister in Panvel. The pillion rider, Shreyas Ashok Jhong, 23, is an Information Technology professional from Airoli.

On Friday, Shelke and Jhong stayed with a friend overnight in Belapur. On their return journey to Panvel via Ulwe Road on Saturday morning, around 5.30 am, they missed the flyover and drove onto the closed jetty road, said senior police inspector Arun Pawar.

Atharva Shelke, the deceased

“There are warning signboards, yet the biker sped through, went straight, and fell into the creek,” said the investigating officer of the case.

While rescuers from the coastal security police chowky and the Atal Setu rescue team managed to save Jhong, Shelke drowned. His body was recovered by coastal security officials around 4.45 pm, about 300 metres away from the spot.

“Unlike the pillion, who managed to swim to safety, the rider drowned. He was carrying a bag, which may have weighed him down. His body surfaced with the low tide,” Pawar said, adding that they retrieved the bike from the creek.

This is the second such mishap at Dhruvatara Jetty in recent times. In July, a woman driving an Audi missed the flyover and steered into the same creek, and was rescued.