Instagram star dies trying to shoot reel at waterfall in India

Aanvi Kamdar, 26, slipped and fell into gorge while shooting at Kumbhe waterfall in Maharashtra state

An Indian Instagram influencer died after falling into a 300-foot gorge while shooting a video at the Kumbhe waterfall in the western state of Maharashtra.

Aanvi Kamdar, 26, on a trip with seven friends, fell into the gorge near Raigad at around 10.30am on 16 July, police said. Officers said she is believed to have been shooting a reel for her Instagram account when she slipped.

Police and local emergency crews, including one from the Coast Guard, responded to the accident on Tuesday.

“She had fallen about 300-350 feet. Despite reaching her, rescuing her was challenging due to her injuries and heavy rain, so we used a vertical pulley,” a rescuer was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Authorities in Raigad said she was brought out of the gorge after a six hour rescue operation but died late on Tuesday at a local hospital.

A chartered accountant by training, Kamdar used the handle @theglocaljournal on Instagram to post photos of her travels, as well as tips and hacks for others. She was well-known for her love of monsoon tourism, and her page has more than 260,000 followers.

Local officials in Maharashtra have urged tourists to prioritise safety and avoid risky behaviour.

This incident is not the first involving social media influencers losing their lives or getting injured seemingly during the pursuit for new content.

Gigi Wu, known as the “Bikini Climber”, died in 2019 after falling into a ravine during a solo hike in Taiwan.

Ryker Gamble, Alexey Lyakh and Megan Scraper of the travel vlogging group “High on Life” died in 2018 after falling from Shannon Falls in British Columbia while attempting to take photos near the waterfall’s edge.

Hong Kong influencer Sofia Cheung, 32, lost her life after falling from a waterfall in Ha Pak Lai park while taking a selfie in 2021.