Bengaluru, May 24: At least 11 members of a family drowned, while three others were rescued, when 14-member group got into the Thattihakkala river in the delta area near Bhatkal in Uttar Kannada district.
Critical Condition of Rescued
The condition of one of the rescued person is said to be critical and has been shifted to hospital in Manipal, neighbouring Udupi district.
The deceased have been identified as Lakshmi Mahadeva Naika (42), Umesh Naika (30), Lakshmi Naika (30), Laxmi Annappa Naika (60), Laxmi Shivaram Naika (49), Jyothi Naika (34), Malathi Naika (38) and Masthamma Naika.
Rescue and Medical Response
The rescued Nagarathna and Mahadevi and one more person were rushed to Bhatkala hospital and the other person was moved to Manipal from there.
The police, coast guards and fire force personnel are searching for three more persons who are missing and feared to be washes away into the high tides.
Local Occupation & Weather Context
According to police, all the 14 belong to the same family hailing from Padu Shirali.
In the coastal region of Karnataka, collecting seashells from the estuary or delta area, where river joins the sea is a common sub-occupation, usually taken up by old, women and children. Since it has been raining heavily for the last two days, the sea was rough, pushing water level in the river back and forth.
On Sunday morning, when this group entered the water, there was a sudden variation in the water current in the river, dragging everyone into deeper area. While the onlookers could save three of them, rest were not lucky.
While eight bodies have been fished out so far, three people are still missing
