The police said that some people had even climbed over a watchtower on the ramparts of the mountain to click selfies on their mobile phones when the lightning, accompanied by a loud thud, struck the tower. Some tumbled down after being knocked unconscious.
A car wades through a puddle of rainwater in Walled City area on Sunday
“There are mountains across the Maotha lake in Amber, several people had gathered over the hills when the incident took place. We are still searching every corner,” said additional DCP (North) Sumit Kumar Gupta.
Family, members and relatives of the deceased and injured were pouring into the SMS Hospital, frantically searching for the name of their loved ones on the list. Ambulance after ambulance were rolling quick successions, ferrying injured to the hospital.
People cross a waterlogged street after Sunday’s downpour in Jaipur
Meanwhile, bad weather and rain-slicked narrow pathways over the mountains impeded the rescue operation. Additional DGP, State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) Sushmit Biswassaid that one platoon along with the local police were searching for survivors and bodies in the wilderness around the mountains.
“The entire area was enveloped in complete darkness, our teams have placed special lights around the spot and they are closely searching near the epicenter where lightning struck,” he said.
ACP, Amber, Saurabh Tiwari said that they were facing difficulties in locating the survivors. “Some of the injured were barely responding. But we quickly sent them to the hospital,” he said.
The Jaipur police said that the area is known for the movement of several wild animals including leopards, therefore, they were racing against time to search out all possible survivors.
Watch Rajasthan: Lightning claims 19 lives, 11 killed near Amber Fort in Jaipur
