The state and central rescue teams rescued all 45 people stranded at the Sultangarh waterfall in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh early Thursday morning, PTI quoted an official as saying. Eight people are still missing, the official said. The men, who went there for a picnic on Wednesday afternoon, were stranded due to a sudden surge of water level in the stream.
“We have rescued 40 people and five people were rescued earlier by a helicopter. All these 45 people are safe now,” PTI quoted SP Rajesh Hingankar on rescue operations in Shivpuri.
A search operation was on to trace the missing persons, the SP added.
The waterfall is located near Mohana village, 55 km from the district headquarters, in an area bordering Gwalior district. It is connected to the Parvati river.
A video clip of the tragedy, being circulated on social media, showed at least five people were swept away by the waters, even as bystanders pegged the number at 10.
Rescue operations were intensified last night after Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured all possible assistance to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. IAF, SDRF, Home Guard, BSF and Madhya Pradesh Police were pressed into action. Helicopter services were also being used in the rescue operation but had to be suspended during the night.
Shivraj thanked Rajnath and Sitharaman for providing all necessary help in the rescue operations. “We appreciate the concern shown by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. We thank them for their quick intervention in the matter,” he wrote on Twitter.
I thank @rajnathsingh ji & @nsitharaman ji who extended their support to help in the rescue operations. I monitored the situation on minute to minute basis as my heart was with the families whose loved ones were stuck in rapids of Sultangarh Water Falls.
— ShivrajSingh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) August 15, 2018
He also thanked Union minister and Gwalior MP Narendra Singh Tomar for overseeing the rescue operation.
State minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia told ANI, “As of now, we don’t know how many people have been washed away. I would like to congratulate the administration for acting swiftly and rescuing people.”
She also thanked the local divers who helped in the rescue operations.
सुल्तानगढ़ वॉटरफ़ॉल हादसे में IAF, SDRF,Home Guard, ITBP & MP Police के प्रयासों का हार्दिक धन्यवाद ।
गाँव के तीन बहादुर गोताखोरों का भी ख़ास योगदान । रामसेवक प्रजापति , निज़ाम और बल्लु ने अपनी जान की बाज़ी लगा कर महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाई । तीनों को अपना सलाम ।@CMMadhyaPradesh— Yashodhara Raje Scindia (@yashodhararaje) August 16, 2018
With PTI inputs