YouTuber, aged 22, missing after he was swept away by a 500-foot waterfall while filming social media video
A Youtube star is missing after he was swept away by a waterfall current while filming a video for his social media platform.
Authorities in Odisha, India, are searching for content creator Sagar Kundu, also known as Sagar Tudu, after he taken by the currents of the Duduma Waterfall on Saturday (August 23), according to local police.
The moment Sagar was swept away was caught on video, and the clip has now gone 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, police said yesterday (Wednesday August 27), that a disaster management team and fire brigade were searching for the online star, who is still missing five days after the incident.
The outlet reported that 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.
"We have so far recovered a bag containing batteries and other equipment which he had thrown into the water moments before being swept away,” said Madhusudan Bhoi, Machkund Police Station inspector in-charge, according to the publication. “The rescue operation in the hilly area has been challenging because of the rugged and rocky terrain and incessant rainfall.”
Fire service officer Umesh Chandra Bagh also told the publication that they have requested that authorities who oversee the Machkund Dam, which is a section of the Machkund River upstream from Duduma Waterfall, to close its gates to the public while the investigation is underway. “Once the water level recedes, it will help us carry out the search operation,” Bagh said.
Sagar had almost 500 subscribers on his Youtube channel, where he often posed about the culture of Odisha.