Four persons, including a six-year-old girl, from Kurvakula islet who ventured into the swollen Krishna on the Karnataka-Telangana border on a coracle, were washed away on Monday. They were identified as Roja, 6, Sumalatha, 35, Narasamma, 40, and Parvathi, 50.
As per the information provided by Santosh Kamagouda, Assistant Commissioner (Raichur sub-division), as many as 13 persons were in the coracle. Nine of them, identified as Vishnu, Nagappa, Jangleppa, Mohan, Anjinamma, Anjanappa, Ushappa, Thimmappa, and Nagesh, managed to reach the riverbank after the coracle capsized.
It is learnt that they were returning to their islet after buying groceries at Panchamadu village in Telangana.
“After a heavy quantum of water was discharged from Basavasagar reservoir, we had closed all the regular routes to and from the islets to ensure the safety of the people. However, these persons ventured into the dangerously overflowing river through some irregular route,” Mr. Kamagouda, who was at the spot overseeing the rescue operation of an NDRF team, told The Hindu.
As news reached the district headquarters, Deputy Commissioner R. Venkatesh Kumar, Superintendent of Police Prakash Nikam and other senior officers rushed to the spot.