Forty-five people stranded at the Sultangarh waterfall in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district were rescued on Thursday morning, PTI reported. Five of them, who were stranded on a rock downstream, were rescued by a helicopter, said Superintendent of Police Rajesh Hingankar.
At least eight people were swept away, Hingankar told PTI. Family members of six people had filed missing person complaints, and a search operation to find them is going on, he said. Eyewitnesses had earlier said that at least 11 people had been swept away.
The incident took place after dam water was released at the popular tourist site. Some reports, however, attributed the situation to the rise in water levels following heavy rain. Low visibility at night hindered the rescue efforts by the state and National Disaster Response Force.
“As of now, we do not know how many people have been washed away,” state minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia, who is the MLA from Shivpuri, told ANI. “I would like to congratulate the administration for acting swiftly and rescuing people.”
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the tourists had been rescued with the help of Border Security Force, State Disaster Response Force, Home Guards, the local police and residents. He thanked Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar for their help.
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