Indrapuram Dinesh (22), Gangachalam and Manoj Goud from Gonugoppula village in Telangana had gone to Kappalavagu (a stream), on Friday, as it was witnessing a huge flow of water due to the incessant rains. Dinesh and his friends reportedly started making videos on the short-form mobile video platform, Tik-Tok. Unfortunately, a few minutes later, Dinesh slipped, fell into the stream and drowned .
The incident took place on Friday in Bheemgal town of Nizamabad district in Telangana. Speaking to TNM, Inspector of Bheemgal said that the youths went to see the water body as it was receiving a heavy flow of water due to incessant rains in the area.
According to the police, the three men walked into the stream of fast-moving waters. A few minutes later, the three slipped due to the gushing water and started drowning. While the villagers present at the scene managed to rescue Gangachalam and Manoj Goud, they could not rescue Dinesh, who drowned.
“As the stream saw huge waters due to rains, the water flow from the check dam had also increased. The three fell as they ventured near the deep hole in the stream. Dinesh’s body was recovered on Sunday,” the Inspector said.
Inspector said that there were many people in the area when the incident took place.
After three days of the rescue operation, the police, State Disaster Response Force and locals recovered Dinesh’s body.
The body will be handed over to the family following the post-mortem.
When asked if the youth fell as they were making the videos, the Inspector said, “People claimed that he (Dinesh) fell while recording for a video, but we haven't found any video that shows he drowned while recording on TikTok.”
However, the police are warning the youths and parents to be aware of the consequences before venturing into water bodies.
A youth in Gonguguppula of Bheemgal in Nizamabad drowned to death following his performance for TikTok platform, however police said they haven't found any video that shows youth performance for TikTok before falling/drowning in the stream @thenewsminute pic.twitter.com/Cb7EXfoucY
— CharanTeja (@CharanT16) September 22, 2019
Two videos, which were reportedly recorded a few minutes before the incident, have been going viral on social media.
It is learnt that Dinesh was migrant labour in Dubai who returned a few months ago.
This is not the first time that people have lost lives while performing for the TikTok platform. Earlier in July, a 24-year-old drowned while making a video on the platform in Dhulapally lake on the outskirts of Hyderabad in Medchal district.