A family outing turned to tragedy as six relatives drowned at a beauty spot.
Two sisters from a family outing of 15 entered the water at Ramdaha Falls of Chhattisgarh in India.
Shraddha and Shweta Singh, aged 14 and 22, were attempting to take a selfie in the water on Sunday, August 28, when the younger sister lost her footing and got into difficulty.
Relatives rushed to Shraddaha’s aid, with brother Himanshu Singh, 18, cousin Rishabh Singh, 24 and his wife Sulekha Singh, 22, jumping into the plunge pool holding hands to try and rescue the sisters. Brothers Abhay Singh, 22, and Ratnesh Singh, 26, also got in to help.
However, witnesses say that within moments all of the relatives began to struggle in deep water.
Horrified onlookers contacted the authorities. Unfortunately, only Sulekha was pulled out alive. Sulekha, from Madhya Pradesh, remains in a critical condition in hospital where she is undergoing treatment.
Officers enlisted divers from the State Disaster Emergency Relief Force to search for those missing. Three bodies were recovered on Sunday evening, August 28, and another three were pulled from the water on Monday morning, August 29.
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.
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.
