11 people were swept away while bathing in a stream at Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri
Highlights
- 11 people were swept away by sudden strong currents
- The waterfall is located in Subhashpura, bordering Gwalior
- 45 people have been rescued, Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted
Eleven people who were out on a picnic at a waterfall in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district were swept away by sudden strong currents on Wednesday. The police said all of them are feared dead.
Forty-five others who were trapped at several locations at the rocky base of the waterfall have been rescued, the police said.
The people were enjoying an outing on Independence Day at Sultangarh waterfall, near Gwalior district, when it started raining heavily upstream.
The 11 people were standing on the middle of the rocky stream when the water level began to rise suddenly in great force. They were then pushed by the strong currents towards the edge of the waterfall's steep drop.
Despite their best efforts to walk to the edge, they couldn't go against the current and were swept away at 4:40 pm. It was all caught on camera.
"Forty-five people in all... trapped on rocks downstream after a sudden increase in water level following a heavy downpour at the Sultangarh waterfall, have been rescued," senior police officer Rajesh Hingankar said.
Madhya Pradesh minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia praised the administration for acting swiftly and rescuing the stranded people within a few hours.
The rescue operation involved teams of the navy, Border Security Force and the state disaster response force. A helicopter was also used to rescue five of the 45 people, Mr Higankar said.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who had been overseeing the rescue efforts, thanked Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for their quick support.
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