Eight people drowned after a boat ferrying devotees to the mainland from an island temple capsized off the Karwar coast on Monday.
The incident occurred at around 3 p.m. when the devotees were returning after participating in ‘Koormagad Narasmiha Jatre’ held at Koormagad island, around 3 kms from Karwar. According to the Indian Navy, there were 26 persons on the boat of whom 17 were immediately rescued by civilian boats. Search is on for a missing person.
Indian Navy's Western Naval Command said that it was alerted about the incident at around 4.45 p.m. and has despatched two Chetak Helicopters and two fast interceptor crafts to the area for search and rescue. Diving teams from Karwar Naval Area have also been deployed in the area.
MLA Roopali Naik was present at the district hospital, inquiring about the health of the survivors.