Two stuntmen drowned on Monday after they jumped from a helicopter into a reservoir in southern India while shooting a scene for an upcoming film, police said.
The crew was shooting the climax scene of regional Kannada film ‘Maastigudi’ when Anil Verma, 31, and Raghav Uday, 38, plunged into Thippagondanahalli reservoir in southern Karnataka state.
“The two actors have drowned to death as they could not swim and were not rescued in time,” local inspector H L Nandeesha said.
Television footage showed the two stuntmen and Duniya Vijay, one of Kannada cinema’s top actors, jump from a height of about 30 feet and surface in the water after a few seconds. But only Vijay managed to swim back to shore safely.
Police have registered a criminal case of negligence against the producers “as precautionary and safety measures were not taken for the shoot,” senior officer, Chandragupta said. “There were no life jackets, no rescue team nor an ambulance,” he added.
The two men had been missing for more than three hours before their bodies were found. (AFP)
