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‘Reel culture will finish everything’: YouTuber swept away while filming at Odisha’s Duduma waterfall, chilling video circulates

The viral clip shows the YouTuber stranded on a rock amid the strong currents while onlookers and tourists try to rescue him.

According to reports, authorities had issued an advance alert to residents downstream ahead of the release (Image source: @manas_muduli/X)

A 22-year-old YouTuber from Odisha’s Berhampur has gone missing after being swept away by strong currents while filming near the Duduma waterfall in the Koraput district on Saturday afternoon.

Identified as Sagar Tudu, the YouTuber had travelled to Koraput with his friend –– Abhijit Behera from Cuttack –– to create video content for his YouTube channel featuring local tourist spots. The incident took place as he was capturing drone footage close to the edge of the waterfall, Prameya News reported.

The viral clip shows the YouTuber stranded on a rock amid the strong currents while onlookers and tourists try to rescue him. However, the current sweeps him away in the blink of an eye as onlookers cried at the scene.

Watch here:

The video is reportedly from Koraput, where a YouTuber was swept away by strong currents at Duduma Waterfall.

People must exercise extreme caution while filming and never put their lives at risk.

Such a tragic incident. pic.twitter.com/8hHemeWv2e

— Manas Muduli (@manas_muduli) August 24, 2025

The video quickly gained traction, prompting strong criticism against “Reel culture”. A user wrote, “Why are people risking their life to create content? Unable to comprehend.” Another user commented, “Total stupidity here .. should not risk going to waterfalls during monsoon time.”

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“Reel culture will finish everything,” a third user reacted. “This is called the theory of natural selection. Nature automatically reduces stupid people,” a fourth user said.

Also Read | 27-year-old Mumbai influencer dies after falling into 300 ft gorge while filming video

According to the report, a sudden surge in water flow, which was caused by the release of approximately 2,000 cusecs from the Machakunda dam following heavy rainfall in the Lamtaput region, led to dangerously high water levels in the area. Authorities had issued an advance alert to residents downstream ahead of the release.

Local authorities, including the Machakunda police and Fire Services personnel, arrived promptly on the scene and launched a search and rescue operation. However, as of the latest update, the YouTuber remains untraceable, while the search efforts are underway, the report added.