Kolhapur, March 24: In a dramatic rescue operation in Kolhapur, a 19-year-old teenager, Aditya Bandgar, was saved from a crocodile-infested stretch of the Panchaganga river in western Maharashtra. Bandgar, who hails from Shirdhon village in Shirol tehsil, had been stuck in the muddy slush amid hyacinth for five days.

TOI reported that Bandgar had left home following a family dispute, and his slippers were later found on the river bank. After an unsuccessful search, his family lodged a missing person report with the Kurundwad police station. Holi Celebration in Lucknow Society Turns Violent As Two Groups Attack Each Other; Video Goes Viral.

In response, local villagers initiated a search operation using a boat from the Shirol tehsil office and sought assistance from White Army, a local disaster rescue organization. Despite the use of a drone and spotting several large crocodiles, the search operation, which spanned nearly 10km of the river stretch, yielded no results until Friday. Crocodile in Uttar Pradesh: Seven-Feet-Long Crocodile Creates Panic in Firozabad, Rescued by Forest Department.

As the search party was returning, they heard cries for help near a rock by the jackwell in the river bed. They discovered Bandgar trapped in a nearly 10ft deep mud pit surrounded by water hyacinth. Nitesh Vankore, a member of the White Army rescue team, stated that they used a rope to extract Bandgar from the mud.

Bandgar, who had sustained a leg fracture and was nearly unconscious by the time of his rescue, has been admitted to a hospital in Shirol.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2024 12:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).