Five missing in Brahmaputra near Kharguli; no trace despite day-long search

Guwahati, Dec 10: A massive search operation by the NDRF and SDRF was conducted throughout Wednesday along the Brahmaputra near Kharguli after five people of a nine-member group, who had gone to the riverbank, were reported missing.

Officials said four members of the group survived on their own, while the remaining five, identified as Pratap, Sagar, Upesh Kumar, Abhijit and Raunak, remain untraceable.

An NDRF official said the first alert was received around 12:50 pm. “The first information came from a lady around 12:50 pm. Within fifteen minutes of getting the information, our team arrived,” the official told the press.

Four rescue boats were deployed for the operation, but the absence of eyewitnesses significantly slowed the search efforts.

Officials said the group is suspected to have visited the Bhakti Kutir Radha Govind Temple near Ramchai Hills before heading to the river.

“We’re being told that there were nine people. People who came to Bhakti Kutir are being suspected to be the victims,” the NDRF official said.

At the riverbank, rescue teams recovered belongings believed to be of six to seven individuals, including Aadhaar and PAN cards of one, Upesh Kumar.

“At the site, we had no eyewitnesses to tell us the exact location where the people went missing. Belongings of over seven people are at the site,” the NDRF official confirmed.

One survivor, Pranav Nayar of Vrindavan, said the group had split just before the incident.

“There were nine of us; five went to a different site and didn’t come back. Among them, four of us who knew how to swim came alive,” Nayar said.

Another survivor recounted how a sudden shift in water depth triggered the mishap.

“We went to perform kirtan. The water level looked low, so we went in till knee-deep. I moved forward and it became deep suddenly. Two moved ahead and were calling us but we couldn’t hear. Six of us got stuck in the water. I was inside for 10–15 seconds trying to come up. They knew how to swim, but the current was so strong it pulled them below,” he said.

The NDRF official warned that despite the river appearing calm, strong undercurrents may have swept the missing persons downstream.

“The water seems stagnant at the surface but below, currents are rapid. If someone has drowned, the flow will take them with it,” he said.

Rescue teams scanned the river stretch up to Umananda Temple. According to sources, the NDRF and SDRF concluded Wednesday’s operation without locating any of the missing individuals.

The search will resume on Thursday.