A man and his wife perilously spent nearly two hours atop their nearly submerged car in a river after it was swept away while crossing an overflowing causeway in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district on Sunday, officials said.

Local fire officials rescued the couple after the water level came down as strong currents initially hindered the operation at Idar town.

The car got pushed away for around 1.5 km from the causeway it was attempting to cross, almost going under the water with only its roof visible, when the Karol river swelled to dangerous levels, fire officer Kamal Patel said.

Meanwhile, the couple managed to get out of the car and climb onto the roof. They sat there for about two hours before being rescued, the official said. Crowds soon gathered on the river banks to witness the rescue, with many filming the car nearly submerged by swirling waters.

Initial attempts to bring them safely failed due to a strong surge of water, and the fire department personnel had to wait for the water level to come down, Patel said.

Meanwhile, a rescue team equipped with a boat was called for help and it was on its way when the couple was safely brought out of the water, he said.

After he and his wife were rescued, Suresh Mistry said he attempted to navigate the inundated causeway because he was confident it was safe to cross, having seen a vehicle ahead of him successfully reach the other side.

“As we were crossing, the water rose and the current became so strong that our car got swept away for about 1.5 km from the causeway,” he said, adding that he called the fire brigade and police for help.