At least one man went missing and another was rescued after a car submerged in an overflowing drain in Bughipura village of Punjab’s Moga district, Wednesday, following unrelenting rainfall since Tuesday.
Inspector Harwinder Singh, SHO Mehna police station, said that one of the two occupants of the Skoda Laura car, identified as Beera, was rescued by the locals. However, another occupant Karan Bawa, in his twenties, was still missing.
“The state disaster response force is at the spot and rescue operations are on but he is yet to be found,” said the Inspector.
Bawa and his worker Beera were travelling towards Ludhiana from Zira of Ferozepur district when their car submerged in the overflowing drain at Bughipura, said police.
The locals rushed for help and pulled out the vehicle but Bawa swept away in the drain, said police.
Manjeet Singh, sarpanch of the village said that due to unrelenting rain since Tuesday, the drains have been overflowing and the car submerged.
Bawa’s family reached the spot and urged police and administration to expedite rescue operations.
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Beera told local reporters that Bawa was driving the vehicle when it submerged.
“We were travelling towards Ludhiana when Bawa was trying to reverse the vehicle and it submerged. We had opened the doors of the vehicle and had almost come out but then he again slipped and was swept away. I kept on holding to the vehicle tightly,” said Beera.
Locals said that the administration failed to take any concrete steps to manage monsoon rainwater and common people were facing extreme harassment due to the rainwater accumulating at public places.
