A 22-year-old YouTuber and content creator was swept away by the current of a 500-foot waterfall while attempting to film a live video. Five days later, authorities are still searching for Sagar Kundu in the surrounding area.
Kundu waded around knee-deep into the stream leading up to the massive Duduma Waterfall on August 23. Despite warnings from his friends, he hopped across rocks to stand in the middle of the stream and began to film as the tide rose.
A video posted online by the Times of India shows the moments where Kundu loses his footing in the rising water, which soon overtakes him and begins to carry him downstream. Friends nearby attempt to rescue him from the tide using ropes, but the young man was unable to grab ahold.
The incident took place in Odisha, India, where local police are searching for the missing man. They have since recovered a bag full of camera equipment and batteries that Kundu threw into the water before losing his balance.
“The rescue operation in the hilly area has been challenging because of the rugged and rocky terrain and incessant rainfall,” Machkund Police Station Inspector in-charge Madhusudan Bhoi of the Machkund Police Station told The New Indian Express.
Local officials plan to close the dam to the above reservoir to reduce the water level and increase the chances of finding Kundu. The Duduma Waterfall sits about halfway through a narrow river from one massive reservoir to another, the Balimela reservoir which sits below. The waterfall, which is a popular tourist attraction in eastern India, is currently closed to the public until investigations conclude.
