Jalpaiguri: In a swift and dramatic rescue, three workers of a nationalised oil company were saved from a sudden flash flood in the Ghathia River on Tuesday evening, thanks to the timely intervention of the block administration.
The incident occurred around 6 pm when Yogesh Gupta, Radhe Krishna and Mohan Singh—all residents of Rahtua village in Bihar—were stranded midstream. The workers had crossed the nearly dry riverbed earlier to lay cables for a pipeline. While returning, they were caught in a sudden surge of water.
To save themselves, they climbed onto a rock, but as the water kept rising, they shouted for help. Local residents gathered quickly, and Amit Paswan, a member of an NGO, alerted the authorities.
Block Development Officer (BDO) Pankaj Konar, along with Nagrakata Police IC Kaushik Karmakar and other officials, rushed to the spot. A JCB machine was deployed and the workers were rescued in a high-risk operation.
“The timely information helped us act quickly. Had there been any delay, the situation could have turned fatal,” said BDO Konar. “It was a sudden flash flood that caught them completely off guard.” The rescued workers expressed deep gratitude.