On cam, miracle rescue as car with child plunges into waterfall | India News

MHOW/INDORE: A car carrying a girl rolls backwards into a lake… Her father, who can’t swim, jumps in after her… And picnickers who are complete strangers to both of them jump in to save the duo. This dramatic rescue was caught on camera at Lodhiakund waterfall, around 40km from Indore, on Sunday.

The video was being shared widely on social media on Monday.
Tayyab Ali, a resident of Bijalpur, on the outskirts of Indore, had driven to the waterfall for a picnic with his wife Zehra and daughter Zaunak (12). After bathing under the waterfall, the child got into the parked car to change.

Her father was standing nearby and was horrified to see the car rolling backwards towards the edge of the waterbody. The girl, too, sensed this and started screaming. Another group of picnickers filming the waterfall from the opposite bank caught this on their mobile phones.
Tayyab (40) yanked open the driver’s door and tried to wrestle the hatchback to a stop but it gained momentum on the slope and kept going. Amid shrieks and screams, the car toppled over backwards and plunged 15 feet into the water.
With the door open, water began filling the car rapidly. Tayyab didn’t know how to swim but jumped in to try and save Zaunak. Both of them began drowning. Some other picnickers jumped into the water and saved both of them.
Sumit Mathew, a 26-year-old mechanical engineer, was one of the bravehearts. He was visiting the waterfall with three friends when he saw the car fall into the water. “I’m a good swimmer, so I jumped in immediately. The girl was still inside the car. Her father was closest to me, so I decided to save him first and go back for the girl. While I swam back with him, others swam towards the car and saved the girl,” he told TOI.
Simrol police station in charge Mansharam Baghel said the father and daughter were sent to a hospital in Indore where they were given first-aid for minor injuries.
Police patrol teams have been warning people against parking hear the waterfall.
As per police, Tayyab said the handbrake “accidentally got disengaged”. “The car was parked on a slope leading to the waterbody below. I tried to stop it but it dragged me along,” read his statement.