YouTuber, aged 22, confirmed dead after he was swept away by a 500-foot waterfall while filming social media video
A Youtube star has died after he was swept away by a waterfall current while filming a video for his social media platform, police have confirmed.
Sagar Kundu, also known as Sagar Tudu, was taken by the currents of the Duduma Waterfall on Saturday August 23, according to authorities in Odisha, India.
After searching for the missing social media star for several days, the police have now confirmed that Sagar has died as their searches led to the discovery of his body.
According to Indian newspaper Deccan Chronicle and news station Odisha TV, police confirmed Kundu’s body was recovered after a 10-day search, found near the Machkund Hydro Power Project down the river from the waterfall. His body was heavily mutilated when authorities reached him, the outlets reported.
Authorities have ordered an autopsy, and Sagar's recovered mobile phone is expected to help aid the ongoing investigation into the circumstances of his death, according to the Deccan Chronicle.
The moment Sagar was swept away was caught on video, and the clip went viral online. In the video, the 22-year-old content creator can be seen standing in the current at the top of popular tourist site Duduma Waterfall before he seems to loses his balance.
Onlookers can be seen in the footage attempting to throw a rope and instructing him on what to do in a desperate attempt to save him. Moments later, however, the water surges forward and he is seen clinging desperately before being dragged away by the powerful current.
According to The New Indian Express, local authorities told them Sagar had visited the waterfall to shoot several short videos. He had stepped into the water to record some of his content, though his friends repeatedly warned him about the strength of the current.
"Suddenly, there was a surge due to water being released from the Machkund Dam. Kundu was swept away by the strong currents, and those at the spot tried to rescue him but failed," police said, describing the moment captured in the viral clip, according to The New Indian Express.
Sagar had almost 500 subscribers on his Youtube channel, where he often posed about the culture of Odisha.