Uttarakhand rain: A man climbs out from the window of his car on a flooded road in Haldwani
Highlights
- On mobile video, man seen climbing out from car
- Another man gets out of a second car and runs to safety
- Moments later, the two cars are carried away by strong currents
The passengers of two cars and an autorickshaw managed to get out from their vehicles on a flooded road, seconds before the two hatchbacks were pulled away by a surge of strong currents in Uttarakhand's Haldwani city.
Heavy rain has been pounding the hill state for the past few days.
On a mobile phone video shot by a witness on Monday, muddy water is seen hitting a white hatchback on its front left door with considerable force. As the current becomes stronger, the water pushes the white car towards a red one and pins it to an autorickshaw beside a concrete wall.
The driver of the white car, a Hyundai Santro, is seen struggling to climb out of the window since the red car has blocked his exit. He manages to get out as the strong currents unhinge the wheels from the slippery ground and move his vehicle suddenly. Two more people jump out of the rear window just in time and they make a dash for safety.
Seconds later another man climbs out from the front left window of the red car, a Hyundai i20, and jumps on to the roof of the autorickshaw. He turns around, only to see the white car being carried away by the currents. Soon after his car is also gone, news agency ANI reported.
A similar incident was reported from the same city earlier on Monday, involving a bus that got stuck in water. The passengers were evacuated safely before the bus got fully submerged.
The authorities have been warning of heavy rain in Uttarakhand for the last few days. Landslides have been reported from across the state. The state capital Dehradun, 270 kilometres from Haldwani, also received heavy rain.
The weather office has forecast more rain in Uttarakhand in the next 24 hours.
With inputs from ANI