Youth Drowns While Shooting Reel in River, Body Recovered After 48 Hours,Video of Incident Goes Viral on Social Media

Korba, May 13: A 25-year-old youth drowned in the Ahiran river under Kusmunda police station limits while allegedly shooting a social media reel with his friends. The body was recovered after an intensive 48-hour search operation, while a video of the incident has surfaced online and is rapidly going viral on social media platforms.

The deceased was identified as Nikhil Singh, son of a dumper operator employed in SECL Kusmunda. According to information received, Nikhil had gone to the river along with three friends for bathing on Tuesday afternoon. During the outing, he reportedly jumped into the river while his friends were recording the act on a mobile phone for a reel.

Sources said that after jumping into the water, the youth was seen struggling and waving his hands for nearly three minutes. However, his friends initially assumed that he was swimming normally. Moments later, he drifted into deeper waters and drowned before anyone could react. No one present at the spot entered the river to rescue him.

Following the incident, the friends informed police and family members. A search operation involving local divers and rescue teams was launched immediately and continued for two days. On Wednesday evening, after prolonged efforts, the body suddenly surfaced in the river and was recovered by the rescue team.

It is learnt that the rescue operation also faced difficulties allegedly due to inadequate equipment with the NDRF team. The untimely death of the youth has left the family in deep shock and grief.

Kusmunda police station in-charge Mrityunjay Pandey said that a case has been registered and further investigation is underway.