Woman, daughter escape rhino attack during safari in Kaziranga; driver suspended
Kaziranga (Assam), Jan 6: A woman and her daughter had a close shave in Assam's Kaziranga National Park (KNP) when they fell off a safari vehicle with rhinos in close proximity, an official said on Monday.
The driver was suspended and an enquiry was ordered, DFO and Deputy Director of the KNP Arun Vignesh said.
The incident happened when the driver accelerated and took a sharp turn after seeing two rhinos nearby, he said adding that action will be taken on the basis of the enquiry report.
Vignesh appealed to the safari vehicle drivers to be careful while driving inside the Park.
The girl fell from the open vehicle while they were taking a safari inside the Bagori range of the KNP and her mother jumped out to pick her up, the official said.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, two rhinos were seen nearby when the incident happened. PTI, however, could not verify the authenticity of the video.
The driver, however, stopped the vehicle at a distance and the two climbed into it again, the official said.
The two were not injured, except for a few scratches, and were taken for medical aid as they were in a state of shock for a while.
The two were from the nearby Harmoti area in Nagaon district.
The official pointed out that both the drivers of the jeeps and tourists should be careful while taking a safari inside the KNP.
He urged all tourists to follow the rules strictly.
President of Kaziranga Jeep Safari Association Mohen Saikia that such an incident has never occurred before in the history of the Park and it is the ''lack of training and experience of a section of young drivers''.
He urged the authorities to arrange for proper training of the drivers.
Meanwhile, another person was injured in a rhino attack in Burapahar range of the Park when he had gone to help forest guards in some work.
The person, identified as Lakhi Teron, was admitted to a hospital and his condition was stated to be critical, a forest official said.
The KNP is a UNESCO World Heritage site which is home to nearly 3,000 greater one-horn rhinoceros.
The Park also has wild buffalo, elephants, swamp deer and tigers.
📍Assam | #Watch: Major accident during safari in Kaziranga averted as mother and daughter fall in front of rhinos, escape unscathed#Viral pic.twitter.com/AHa64faan0
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Dakshina Kannada: Two girls drown while bathing near Kolyadakatta dam in Kadaba
Mangaluru: Two girl students drowned while bathing near the Kolyadakatta dam area of the Gundya river on Friday evening here in the Kadaba Taluk of the district.
The deceased have been identified as Arpita (15) and Sunita (21), both residents of Vimalagiri in Kutrupadi village.
According to reports, five girl students had visited the river along with their friends as it was a holiday. While bathing in the river, the two students reportedly entered a deeper portion of the water without realising the depth and began drowning.
Those accompanying them tried to rescue the duo, but were unsuccessful, leading to the tragedy.
After receiving information about the incident, Kadaba Police Station personnel visited the spot and conducted an inspection. The bodies were later recovered with the help of local residents.
