JODHPUR: An officer from 10 Para was feared drowned in a lake during an exercise in Jodhpur on Thursday.
Captain Ankit Gupta jumped into water from a helicopter along with some other personnel as part of a drill to save drowning persons but was not seen again.
A rescue operation was carried out by police, SDRF and civil defence along with army divers but he could not be traced till late at night.
SHO (Rajiv Gandhi Nagar) Jai Kishan Soni said a team of 10 Para had undertaken an exercise in Kailana lake on the outskirts of Jodhpur on Thursday afternoon.
As part of the exercise, some jawans jumped into the lake from a helicopter to practice a rescue operation. They were supposed to hold the drowning persons and rescue him safely back to the helicopter. “While all showed up after jumping into the water, Captain Ankit Gupta did not emerge,” Soni said.
They tried to search him on their own first, but when they failed, informed their seniors, who rushed to the spot and began a search operation.
On information, police also rushed to the spot and called in SDRF, civil defence team and some private divers.
According to sources, Captain Gupta had come out and had been holding the hands of rescuers during the exercise, but slipped and fell back into the water. The search operation was on till late night, but the officer could not be found till then.