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• Three youths came to visit Devpahari Falls, suddenly youth got trapped in rising water.
• Rescue lasted 15 hours, three youths were pulled out safely

Korba. The rising water level of Hasdev River amid active monsoon put the lives of three youths who had come to visit Devpahari Falls on Monday night in jeopardy. Due to sudden rise in water on the island in the middle of the river, all three youths got stuck there. After a challenging rescue operation that lasted for about 15 hours, all three were rescued safely on Tuesday morning with the help of local villagers. After the youth came out, the police, administration and their families heaved a sigh of relief.

According to the information, Dhaneshwar Sarathi, Ghanshyam Mahant and Suraj Sarathi, residents of Gurma Shyang village, had come to visit Devpahari Falls on Monday. It is being told that all three went to the island situated in the middle of Hasdev river to get photographs taken. Meanwhile, due to continuous rains, the water level of the river suddenly started rising and the flow of water increased. Within no time the island was surrounded by water from all sides and the three youths could not return to the shore.

The youth in trouble spent the night in an umbrella built on the island. He contacted the rescue team through video call and also informed his family about the incident. As soon as the information was received, Lemru police station became active and the station in-charge reached Devpahari with the police team. After this the SDRF team was also called to the spot.

It was a big challenge for the rescue team to reach the youth amidst the darkness of night, strong current and continuously rising water level. SDRF soldiers, with the help of villagers, conducted an operation throughout the night, but due to conditions not being favourable, the youth could not be taken out immediately. During this time, the three youth remained safe on the island and the rescue team kept monitoring them continuously.

Korba SP Siddharth Tiwari said that as soon as the information was received, Lemru police station in-charge was sent to the spot. The SDRF team conducted a rescue operation throughout the night, but due to the water level in the river not decreasing, the operation faced difficulty. Rescue was started again on Tuesday morning.

After assessing the water level and conditions on Tuesday morning, the rescue team, with the help of local villagers, safely pulled out the three youths from the island situated in the middle of the river with the help of ropes. After the success of this campaign which lasted for about 15 hours, the police and the district administration heaved a sigh of relief.

The water level of the river and waterfall increases rapidly during monsoon in Devpahari. Despite this, there remains a risk of accident if tourists ignore warnings and go to the middle of the river. Monday’s incident once again shows that even a little carelessness around waterfalls and swollen rivers during the rainy season can prove fatal.