Kota (Rajasthan), Jul 14 (PTI) Five youths were swept away in the Chambal River here on Monday afternoon after the water level suddenly rose following the release of water from 12 gates of the Kota Barrage. One youth was rescued in time, officials said.

According to police, a group of seven youths had gone for a picnic on an island in the river. They were taking photographs and making videos when the water level began rising rapidly. While one of them was rescued by locals, another escaped the tragedy as he had left the spot to purchase liquor.

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The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police launched a search operation soon after the incident was reported. However, the five missing youths were yet to be traced as of Monday evening.

Around seven youths had parked their bikes and were taking photographs in the low-lying area near Hari Singh village when the water level suddenly rose. While five were swept away, one was rescued by residents. The group ignored repeated warnings from a nearby temple priest about the rising water level," Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dhaka said.

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One of the rescued youths has been identified as Bansilal Meghwal (35), a resident of Nimoda village, SHO of Digod police station, Purshottam Mehta said.

"The identity of the five missing youths is yet to be confirmed, as the rescued individual is not in a condition to provide detailed information at this stage," Mehta added.

Police and administrative officials rushed to the site, about 30 kilometres from the Kota district headquarters, to oversee the rescue efforts.

Due to continuous rainfall in the region, the authorities opened all 12 gates of the Kota Barrage at 11.30 am on Monday, releasing approximately 2.2692 lakh cusecs of water downstream, said Nisha Sharma, Junior Engineer at Kota Barrage.

The volume of water released was gradually reduced throughout the day. By 6.45 pm, 25,590 cusecs of water were being discharged through three gates, she added.

"Announcements are regularly made, and information regarding the opening of the barrage gates is shared with all concerned departments to ensure residents in downstream areas can take precautionary measures and move to safer locations," Sharma said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)