Representative image of drowning.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bhind (MP): A farmer trying to save his cow drowned and two emergency responders sent to the spot went missing after their boat capsized near a dam in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind district, an official said on Thursday.
About 100 rescuers have been pressed into service to trace the missing personnel in the area, nearly 12 km from the district headquarters, he said.
One Vijay Singh dived into the water after his cow got stuck in one of the sluice gates of a dam on the Kunwari River on Wednesday evening. Upon seeing him caught in a whirlpool, his cousin Dinesh Singh Bhadoria tried to save him but got swept away due to strong currents, said Superintendent of Police Asit Yadav.
Locals from Kachongra village present on the bank pulled Vijay out of the water using ropes, but he was dead by then, the official told PTI.
After spotting Dinesh stuck in bushes in the middle of the river, the villagers alerted the authorities who sought the help of the State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF) to rescue him.
A three-man team of SDERF wearing life jackets ventured into the river, the SP said.
However, their boat overturned, throwing the rescuers into the gushing waters.
In no time, the strong currents near the dam ripped the life jackets of SDERF jawans Praveen Kushwaha and Hardas Chauhan were ripped by the strong current of water and the duo went missing. Efforts are on to rescue them, the SP said.
The third SDERF jawan managed to move to the river bank safely.
Rahul Sharma, a member of the SDERF team, said Dinesh Bhadoria and the cow were rescued on Wednesday, Yadav said.
The operation to find the two missing jawans was halted on Wednesday night due to darkness and it resumed on Thursday morning.
“Nearly 100 rescuers are trying to locate the missing SDERF jawans,” the official added.