Madhya Pradesh State Home Minister Narottam Mishra, in an attempt to rescue people stranded in the flood-hit Datia district, himself got stuck and had to be airlifted on Wednesday, 4 August.
While on a survey of the flood-hit areas, Mishra had found nine people trapped on a roof, while their house was submerged. Mishra was on a boat of the State Disaster Response Force along with some relief workers, and tried to reach the stranded people.
However, before the minister could arrange for their rescue, a tree fell on the boat, making it inoperative as the motor couldn't start, an official said.
Mishra, an MLA from the same area, then sent messages to government officials after which a helicopter of the Indian Air Force was sent to rescue him and nine others, NDTV quoted the official.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday, said that the situation in the northern part of the state is grim, adding that at least 1,225 villages have been affected and efforts are underway to rescue 1,950 people.
Congress criticised the incident as a publicity stunt gone wrong. Congress leader Bhupendra Gupta was quoted as saying, "The way our Home Minister tried to act like Spiderman was dangerous for himself, the stranded people and those who had gone with him. It was only a publicity stunt that went wrong,"
Mishra tweeted a video of the survey:
(With inputs from NDTV)
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