SDM swept away in flash flood

A sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) is feared killed after his car got swept away in flash flood while crossing a seasonal river in Banswara district on Friday. His driver had a narrow escape as he was able to get onto land after flowing for almost two-and-a-half kilometres.

The accident occurred around eight in the morning when SDM Rameshwar Dayal Meena was crossing a seasonal culvert Bakdi near Kalinjara in Banswara. The incident went unnoticed. It was only after the driver was rescued and informed the pool clerk at the collectorate headquarter over the phone that the district administration immediately swung into action.

More than a thousand people, including local villagers, were combing the river stream till reports last came in. People from nearby villages rushed to help.

By evening, the vehicle was recovered, but there wasn’t any trace of the missing SDM. “The terrain and heavy flow of water made rescue difficult. Arrival of disaster relief force and professional divers made underwater search possible. Unfortunately the SDM could not be traced,” district collector Bhagwati Prasad said.

The rescue operation will resume at daybreak on Saturday. The Bakdi merges in Hiran river few kilometers away from the accident site. The district administration has also laid nets at the meeting point, in vain.