15-Year-Old Boy Drowns in Barak River Near Madhurbond, Search Operation Continues

A 15-year-old boy, Monu Hussain Laskar, has gone missing after drowning in the Barak River near Madhurbond, Gangpar PHE Road in Cachar on Sunday afternoon.

According to locals, Monu had gone to bathe in the river with a friend around 2 PM when a strong current swept him away. The boy has not yet been found despite immediate rescue attempts by a neighbour and subsequent search operations by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

A neighbour who witnessed the incident and tried to save the boys told Barak Bulletin, “I was on the bank when both of them were bathing. Suddenly, I heard one of them cry for help, and I jumped into the river. It was physically very difficult to save both. One of them climbed onto my shoulder and I took him towards the bank, asking him to swim back. When I went back to save the other, he had already gone deeper into the water. I also began to lose my senses while searching.”

“Due to frequent rainfall in the Northeast over the past few weeks, the flow of water in the river has increased, and the water was very choppy today.

He added that another local man also jumped in to help, but their efforts to rescue Monu were unsuccessful. Locals then informed the police, and the SDRF team arrived and began an extensive search of the area.

As of the filing of this report, the boy remains untraceable. The search operation is ongoing.