MANDYA/ BENGALURU: A family outing ended in tragedy as two women drowned and four others, including two children, were missing after gates of the Markonahalli dam built across Shimsha river in Mandya district suddenly opened on Tuesday afternoon.
The village where the tragedy occurred is on the border of Tumakuru and Mandya districts and is 100km from Bengaluru. The family members were visiting relatives in Magadipalya in Kunigal taluk of Tumakuru district, according to police.
At least seven members of the family were playing in the water when the crest gate automatically opened, releasing a surge of water. All seven were swept away. Police recovered the bodies of two women later.
Mandya superintendent of police Mallikarjun Baladandi confirmed to TOI that gates opened around 3.30pm when a total of 15 members from Tumakuru town were visiting the dam site.
The deceased women have been identified as Sajiya and Harbeen, both around 40. Search for four others - Tabassum, Sabana, Mifra (4) and Maheeb (1) - is on. A 30-year-old man, Nawaz, rescued is in a critical condition, police said.
"They had come to see us and later planned a visit to the reservoir. None of us imagined it would end this way," said a grieving relative. Rescue operations launched along with fire and emergency services personnel and local divers were suspended due to fading sunlight. It will resume early Wednesday, police stated.
