Five drown near reservoirs in separate case, 3 bodies fished out; Search on for two others

CHIKKABALLAPUR, KALABURAGI: Five people, including two women, drowned near reservoirs in separate cases in the state on Wednesday. While the bodies of three were fished out, a search was on for two people.

In Chikkaballapur district, three people died while trying to rescue a child which fell into the water while they were having lunch on a rock near the Srinivasa Sagar reservoir. The deceased were identified as Farhina Begum (35) and Basheera (35) of Chikkaballapur, and Imran (45), a relative from Munireddypalya in Bengaluru.

The family had first gone to Nandi Hills to celebrate Ramzan, but as visitor entry was barred, they proceeded to Srinivasa Sagar reservoir. While they were having food, a child slipped into the water and the mother Farhina Begum rushed to save the child. Two other relatives also followed suit, but three people died. In videos, some of the children could be seen trying CPR on the relatives till the ambulance arrived.

The bodies were later fished out and sent to the Chikkaballapur district hospital for post-mortem examination. The incident occurred in Chikkaballapur Rural police limits. Relatives of the deceased vented their anger at the Minor Irrigation Department for not taking adequate safety measures.

A search was on for the missing men.

In another incident, two people drowned near the Belakota reservoir in Kamalapur taluk of Kalaburagi district on Wednesday. The victims were identified as Asif Ahmed Sheikh (43) and Mohammed Nizam Chotumiyan (30).

A group of six friends had gone to the reservoir when Asif and Nizam, who had gone swimming, went missing. The Fire and Emergency Services personnel, along with the State Disaster Response Force, were conducting a search for the two men. The incident occurred in Mahagaon police limits.