Woman dead, 3 missing as flood sweeps car off bridge in Balod

RAIPUR: A woman was killed and two others, including an infant, are missing after their vehicle was swept away in a fast-flowing flooded rivulet in Balod district of Chhattisgarh in the wee hours of Thursday. Two others - including the driver - swam their away out of the raging floodwaters.


The family was headed for a hospital, and police believe the driver tried to cross a submerged bridge in the dark.

Police were informed in the early hours of Thursday that a wrecked Bolero had been washed away in an isolated location near Daundilohara. When cops arrived at the scene, a few witnesses came forward to say that they had seen a Bolero swept away by the overflowing Keri canal around 3am.

The passengers tried to get out of the vehicle as it bobbed up and down in the water and was swept deeper into the rivulet. A few got out and started swimming, but the rest were trapped, villagers said.

Police found that there were six persons in the vehicle - including three women and an infant. One of them was ailing and they were headed back to Punarkasa village from a hospital in Dallirajhara in heavy rain.

Keri canal was overflowing and the bridge was already under three feet of water after nightlong rain, say witnesses. Despite the risk, they tried to cross the bridge. In seconds, the vehicle was swept away. Driver Tikeshwar and former sarpanch of the village, Dwarika Salam, managed to swim ashore and informed police. By then, an SDRF team had already plunged into the rescue after being alerted by villagers.

Rescuers found a woman's body stuck in the bushes not far from where the Bolero had washed ashore. She was identified as Suwari Bai.

There was no sign of three others - three-year-old Nagesh, Bhaveshwari Bai and Mukund Kumar - till nightfall. The rescue op was halted because of the darkness. The driver has been arrested. Police say there is another bridge some distance away, which the driver could have opted for, but he took the risk of driving over a flooded bridge.