The torrential rain that hit Bengaluru on Sunday saw several areas dangerously flooding and this also caused the tragic death of an Infosys employee, Bhanurekha, who was trapped in the backseat of an MUV. The vehicle was submerged in an underpass near KR Circle, just metres away from Vidhana Soudha, the seat of governance in Karnataka.
The presence of mind of a News18 reporter who called for immediate help from a Quick Response Team (QRT), aided in saving the lives of five members of Bhanurekha’s family. Manjunath Chandra, a reporter from News18 Kannada, who had been on the field covering the rain and how the city was getting flooded, gives us his first-person account of what occurred, how the family trapped below the underpass was screaming for help, and what happened subsequently.
The presence of mind of our brave reporter to bring in help from the QRT and the rescue services helped in saving five out of six lives or else the casualties would have been higher, said police officials to News18. A witness said that the reporter also ensured that people avoided the underpass while the traffic piled up.
“It was around 3.45 pm that it suddenly turned dark and began to rain very heavily. I was near Vidhana Soudha Metro station taking video footage of the rain when I decided to move towards KR Circle to get a better visual. I was trying to find a vantage point to do my lives on television about the rain when I heard screams for help in Telugu. I could hear voices of women saying ‘Kaapadandi’ (meaning ‘save us’). I rushed towards the underpass and saw a Xylo car immersed in water,” recalled Manjunath.
According to witnesses, the driver of the car which was hired by Bhanurekha to take her family out for a visit across the city had tried to zoom through the water in the underpass. He had not estimated the depth of the water that was getting logged and the occupants soon found themselves in water that was as high as the windshield of the vehicle.
Manjunath further described how he saw the driver sitting atop the vehicle and trying to break the glass panes. The engine had switched off and none of the automatic mechanisms in the vehicle could work including the rolling down of the windows. This turned out to be a deathtrap; the passengers inside the MUV were unable to get out safely.
“I frantically began making calls to the police. I called the fire services which had a station less than a kilometre away. I could not get through the 112 hotline due to incessant rain. Then I began calling all the senior officers including Bengaluru police commissioner Pratap Reddy. He responded by alerting the local teams in the area. I saw a QRT that was heading towards the Cubbon Park metro station and I rushed to stop the vehicle. I opened the door of their vehicle and pleaded that they come and help the distressed family which was now in almost 7-feet-deep water,” explained the reporter. “I forced open the door of the moving QRT vehicle to explain the tragic situation to them and they quickly responded as well. What astounded me was when a lady from the public opened her saree and tried to give it to the trapped family. Though it was not enough, people also tried to bring in cloth banners and sheets to help them stay afloat.”
The rain continued to last the city and the fire services managed to reach the location ten minutes after the call was made. Two of the family members were pulled out by swimmers from the QRT while the others were brought to safety using a ladder from the fire services department.
“Manjunath hoped his very good presence of mind and timely calls helped us avert a major disaster. Though we tried to save one of the occupants, she was trapped in the back seat and was in extremely bad shape by the time she was pulled out,” explained a local police officer who was on the field.
Karnataka DGP Praveen Sood also praised Manjunath’s efforts to seek immediate help, call the top officials, and gather as much assistance as possible to save the family.
“He called me in panic and I immediately activated our team and called the police commissioner. Manjunath’s interventions were very timely as otherwise it would have caused a bigger casualty. If I understand correctly, he tried to elicit a lot of help from the public who were there and many did not stop. In this age when people are busy taking videos of such incidents, Manjunath put humanity first and tried to save lives, which is commendable,” Sood told News18.
The survivors were rushed to the nearest hospital. Unfortunately, Bhanurekha died at the hospital where she was taken for immediate medical attention. The hospital authorities said that she had been received in the emergency room with no pulse and the ECG had shown a flatline.
“She had lost her life due to drowning,” said a doctor from Bengaluru’s St Martha’s Hospital.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah visited the family at the hospital and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to Bhanurekha’s family.
Comments
0 comment