Family of six DIE while trying to save two sisters dragged under waterfall while taking selfies
CHHATTISGARH, INDIA: A day that was supposed to be filled with happiness and joy turned traumatic after six members of a family drowned and died in the Ramdaha waterfall in Chhattisgarh’s Koriya district earlier this week on Sunday, August 28.
While initial reports stated that the family drowned while taking a shower under the waterfall, eyewitnesses present at the spot claimed that the horrible incident happened when the members jumped into the deep water to save two young women members of the family who were drowning after they went under the waterfall to take selfies.
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The incident in India saw two sisters named Shraddha and Shweta Singh, aged 14 and 22, attempting to take selfies in the deep water. The situation turned into a tragedy when the younger sister lost her balance and pulled her elder sister into the water too. Seeing the two girls drowning, relatives rushed to help them, with brother Himanshu Singh, 18, cousin Rishabh Singh, 24, and his wife Sulekha Singh, 22, jumping into the plunge pool holding hands to try and rescue the sisters. Brother Abhay Singh, 22 and Ratnesh Singh, 26 also jumped in to help members.
But, witnesses said that within moments, all of them began floundering in the deep waters. Bystanders immediately called the authorities for help and tried their best to save the family. But sadly, only Sulekha could be pulled out alive. The authorities assigned divers from the State Disaster Emergency Relief Force to search for the bodies of the remaining family members.
The bodies of three individuals were retrieved on Sunday evening, while the bodies of the other three people were fished out on Monday morning, August 29. However, Sulekha remains in critical condition and is being treated at the local hospital in Madhya Pradesh. The authorities later determined that all the victims were a part of a group of 15 members of an extended family from Madhya Pradesh.
The officials of the district revealed that the bodies of the victims are sent for postmortem and will later be handed over to relatives of the unfortunate family. Despite a big caution board at the waterfall, tourists put their life in danger and step into deep water to take shower under the waterfall, local police said. This is not the first time when tourists have died here. Earlier this year, another drowning incident happened at the same spot which claimed the lives of three men from the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh.