Mother-son duo swept away in river in MP's Balaghat; search efforts underway

Balaghat, Sep 12 (PTI) A 50-year-old woman and her son were swept away while crossing a river in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district, officials said on Friday.

A search is underway for the duo who went missing in the Chhoti Bagh River in Lanji tehsil on Thursday, they said.

Lanji sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) said that Kamalabai Markam and her son Gajju Markam, residents of Ameda village under Bahela police station limits, were returning from the house of her daughter's in-laws at Chinglutola village in the Salekasa area of neighbouring Maharashtra.

Ameda village in Madhya Pradesh and Chinglutola in Maharashtra are barely one and a half km away via a river route with an old causeway, he said.

Locals use the causeway, which is about 75 km from the district headquarters, he added.

According to the police, the woman and her son attempted to cross the river, as the water level appeared low, but were swept away by sudden strong currents.

A team from the State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF) was searching for the missing duo, they said. PTI COR LAL ARU