Dad, daughter die in Tamil Nadu as car falls into 70ft well

DHARMAPURI: A 42-year-old man and his 13-year-old daughter drowned after the sports utility vehicle (SUV) they were travelling in plunged into a 70-ft deep well near Karimangalam on Tuesday. The fire and rescue services personnel have retrieved their bodies after six hours of struggle.
The Karimangalam police said the incident occurred when L Veeran, of Linga Nagar in Bengaluru, wife Umalakshmi and daughter Sushmitha, were returning home after staying with his sister at her house at Mettur in Salem. Veeran, who was a manager with a private garment unit in Bengaluru, was at the wheel.
C Kalaichelvan, superintendent of police, Dharmapuri, said, "While crossing a flyover on Salem-Bengaluru National Highway, Veeran lost control of the SUV, which went off the road and plunged into a well nearby."
While Umalakshmi managed to get out of the vehicle through the back door, which opened when the SUV fell into the well, the officer said. Veeran and Sushmitha were stuck inside the vehicle.
People who witnessed the incident alerted police, who reached the spot along with fire and rescue services personnel from Dharmapuri and Palacode fire stations. The team rescued Umalakshmi, who was floating in the water. "She was admitted to the government hospital at Karimangalam and her condition is stable," the SP said. The fire and rescue services personnel retrieved the bodies of Veeran and Sushmitha around 8.45pm on Tuesday and sent them to the government hospital for postmortem.