The incident took place this noon when the deceased, identified as sisters Gazala Shaikh (19) and Suraiya Shaikh (13) and their cousin Saima Khan Pathan (14), had gone to the river side for washing clothes at Kasturwadi village, Badnapur police station inspector Rameshwar Khannar said.
One of the girls accidentally fell in the river and was washed away into the deep waters. Her sisters promptly jumped in a bid to save her but they too drowned, the officer said.
A pal of gloom descended over the village, nearly 30 kms from the district headquarters, after the tragic incident.
A case has been lodged in the Badnapur police station in connection with the incident, police said.