Alert locals rescued a 25-year-old man from a car that sank into a highway-side pond in Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit witnessed a dramatic rescue on Thursday, when alert locals sprang into action to pull a 25-year-old man from a sinking car after he lost control of the vehicle and plunged into a roadside pond.
The speeding Maruti Suzuki Ertiga reportedly veered off the road near the pond and was fully submerged within minutes, as a terrified crowd gathered along the highway.
A chilling video of the rescue, showing bystanders hauling the driver, Shivam, out of the submerged vehicle, quickly went viral across social media platforms.
According to eyewitness accounts, a boatman present at the pond and another young passerby immediately jumped into the water upon spotting the sinking car. Acting with remarkable speed, they managed to retrieve Shivam from the completely submerged vehicle—just minutes before the situation could have turned fatal.
“I was passing along the highway when I saw a car sinking into the pond. Without a second thought, I jumped in and assisted the boatman in pulling the driver out,” said one of the rescuers, Dinesh Kushwaha.
Upon being alerted, City Magistrate Vijay Vardhan Tomar and senior police officer Naresh Tyagi, along with teams from the police and the fire brigade, rushed to the scene. Rescue personnel later retrieved the car from the pond.
“Our teams reached the spot as soon as the information was received. The driver was evacuated, rushed to hospital, and the vehicle has been safely recovered,” a police officer said.
Shivam was swiftly transported to Pilibhit Medical College, where he is undergoing treatment. Doctors described his condition as serious but stable, adding that he had received timely emergency care.
The incident has drawn attention to critical safety lapses along the busy highway stretch that skirts the pond on three sides. Despite being a high-security and high-traffic corridor, the route lacks adequate safety barricades, according to the locals.
The area houses the official residences of the District Magistrate, the Superintendent of Police, a local court complex, and lies close to the residence of state minister Sanjay Singh Gangwar. However, residents argue that the absence of protective barriers around the pond has made the zone prone to recurring accidents and drowning incidents.
Local ward member Sunita Singh accused authorities of repeated negligence, claiming multiple complaints had been ignored.
