On visit to Oman, 6 of Maha family go missing in flash flood

Six members of a family from Maharashtra's Beed district have been swept away in flash floods in the Gulf nation of Oman where they had gone on a visit, the Mumbai Police said Monday.

The mishap occurred on Saturday when the family of Khairulla Khan, a retired teacher in Bukhari School in Beed's Majalgaon, was on a visit to Wadi Bani Khalid, a famous tourist destination, 126 kilometers from Oman's capital Muscat, an official said.

"Khan, his wife Shabana, their daughter-in-law Arshi and three grandchildren, including a 28-day-old man, had gone to Oman where his elder son Sardar Fazal Ahmed has been working as a pharmacist for the last two years," Inspector S A Sayyad of Majalgaon police station said Monday.

He said the family had gone to Wadi Bani Khalid in Sardar's car.

"Once they reached the spot, they encountered heavy rainfall and storm. The car couldn't be driven further due to rain and smog and the family opened one of the doors of the vehicle in their bid to escape," he said.

But as the door opened, Sardar's four-year-old daughter Sidra fell into the water.

"He jumped into the water to rescue her but he could not. A massive gush of water threw the entire family out of the vehicle, all of them going missing shortly after," Sayyad said.

He said Sardar managed to survive by holding on to the branch of a palm tree. He then managed to reach higher ground where he tried to arrange for help.

Speaking to media in Oman, Sardar said, "Initially we had thought it was a sunny day and we left for Wadi. But when we reached there, I noticed people leaving the place in a hurry. Before we could comprehend what was the matter, it started raining heavily," he said.

Sardar's two brothers stay in Majalgaon and they, along with scores of relatives who have gathered at Khan's Raj Gully residence, are waiting for communication from authorities.