Six members of the same family tragically drowned while attempting to save a 14-year-old girl who fell into waters while taking a selfie. The group of 15 relatives were visiting Ramdaha Falls of Chhattisgarh in India when two sisters approached the edge of the beauty spot.
Shraddha and Shweta Singh, aged 14 and 22, were attempting to take a picture together when the younger sibling stumbled and fell into the plunge pool. Family immediately rushed over to help her, with brother Himanshu Singh, 18, cousin Rishabh Singh, 24 and his wife Sulekha Singh, 22, diving in while holding hands to try and save the sisters.
Brothers Abhay Singh (22) and Ratnesh Singh (26) also jumped in, the Mirror reports. However, just a few moments later all the relatives started to struggle in the deep water, eyewitnesses say.
Despite horrified onlookers contacting the authorities, only Sulekha was pulled out alive. Officers enlisted divers from the State Disaster Emergency Relief Force to search for those missing, with three bodies were recovered on Sunday evening and another three pulled from the water on Monday morning.
Korea District Magistrate Kuldeep Sharma told the Times of India that the bodies had been sent for autopsies before being released back to the remaining members of the family. The Sun reports that Sulekha, from Madhya Pradesh, remains in a critical condition in hospital where she in undergoing treatment.
Police said that signs had been placed at the popular picnic spot to warn visitors not to bathe in the water. This tragic incident comes less than six months after another drowning at the same spot which claimed the lives of three men from Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh.
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