India stuntmen feared dead after reservoir jump goes wrong

Image copyright Kashif Masood

Image caption The two stuntmen jumped into the water from a helicopter without life jackets

Two stuntmen are feared dead after jumping into a reservoir as part of a film shoot near Bangalore in southern India.

Anil Verma and Raghav Uday jumped out of a helicopter into the water during filming for a Kannada language film.

Senior police official Seemant Kumar Singh told BBC Hindi that the two men had been missing for over three hours.

Rescuers are at the scene and a team from India's National Disaster Rescue Force are also being sent to the spot.

Duniya Vijay, who is one of Kannada cinema's top actors, also jumped into the water with the stuntmen, but managed to swim ashore without injury.

Mr Singh told the BBC Hindi's Imran Qureshi that the two men were not wearing life jackets when they jumped into the water for their stunt, and he suspected they did not know how to swim.

"We are filing a case of negligence but we will only know who should be held responsible after we investigate," he said.