A 22-year-old YouTuber, Sagar Kundu, from Berhampur, was swept away by strong currents while filming a video at Duduma waterfall on Saturday. Rescue teams, including police, fire personnel, and ODRAF, continued searching on Monday, but he had not been found.
Police said Sagar was filming a live video when the accident happened. He had gone into the middle of the stream by jumping across rocks, even though his friends had warned him about the rising water. The incident happened in the Machkund police area. Kundu was live-streaming at the time.
Witnesses said he jumped across rocks to stand in the middle of the stream, ignoring repeated warnings from his friends about the rising water. His friends tried to throw a rope to save him, but it didn’t work. Around 4:30 pm, a sudden surge of water from the dam swept him away in front of the shocked group.
Watch The Video Here..
The video is reportedly from Koraput, where a YouTuber was swept away by strong currents at Duduma Waterfall.
---Advertisement---People must exercise extreme caution while filming and never put their lives at risk.
Such a tragic incident. pic.twitter.com/8hHemeWv2e
— Manas Muduli (@manas_muduli) August 24, 2025
Madhusudan Bhoi, IIC of Machkund police station, said a joint team of ODRAF, fire services, police, and local villagers resumed the search on Sunday morning. By evening, they had only recovered a bag with batteries and other equipment that Sagar had thrown into the water just before being swept away.
Sagar, along with fellow YouTuber Abhijit Behera from Cuttack’s Jobra area, visited the waterfall on Saturday afternoon with friends. They filmed videos at several spots, including using a drone, before the accident happened around 4:30 pm.
Witnesses said that while others stayed on the bank, Sagar ignored repeated warnings to come back. His friends tried to throw a rope to pull him to safety, but it didn’t work. Within minutes, water from the dam surged and swept him away in front of the shocked group.
Police said rescue teams will intensify the search when operations resume.
