MP: Death toll in Chambal river drowning tragedy mounts to five; two missing

The death toll in the Chambal river drowning accident in the Morena district of Madhya Pradesh rose to five on Sunday with the recovery of three more bodies, while two boys are still missing, a police officer said.

The tragedy struck a group of 17 pilgrims on Saturday morning when they were crossing the river on their way to a temple in neighbouring Rajasthan. While two persons had drowned, five others had gone missing.

"Bodies of three women were recovered from the Chambal river on Sunday, which raised the death toll to five. Two persons, a 12-year-old boy and a 17-year-old, are still missing," police inspector Dharmendra Malviya told PTI over the phone.

The deceased women are identified as Rukmani (24), Alopa Bai (45), and Rashmi (19).

He said the bodies were fished out from the river by divers of the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force with the help of local people.

The incident had occurred when 17 devotees from MP's Shivpuri district, heading for a temple fair in Rajasthan, were crossing the river on foot thinking that the water was shallow, police had said.

"They were swept away by a strong current of water but ten of them swam to safety. Seven of the survivors reached the river bank on the Rajasthan side and three reached the MP side," an official had said.

Two persons from the group -- Devkinandan (50) and Kallo Bai (45) -- drowned, while five others went missing.

The group of devotees hailed from Chilwada village, about 22 km from Shivpuri district headquarters.