Mysuru: Five persons including former Vice-President of Nanjangud City Municipal Council, had a miraculous escape, when the car in which they were travelling, fell into a canal near Halugada between Sargur and Nanjangud yesterday.

The former Vice-President of Nanjangud City Municipal Council, identified as Doreswamy (see inset pic), along with four of his family members, had been to Chikkadevamma Hill Temple to offer special puja along with others in four vehicles.

After performing puja, they were proceeding towards Nanjangud at about 4 pm in a Honda CRV car (KA-01 MS-2222).  As they approached the Kapila canal, a cyclist came in front of the car and the driver, in a bid to avoid ramming the car into the cyclist, lost control of the car and rammed it to the retaining wall of the canal and the car fell into the canal as the wall collapsed due to the impact.

Doreswamy, his brother Papanna, two children and the car driver, who were in the car suffered minor injuries. The public, who rescued the occupants of the car, took them to Vivekananda Memorial Hospital, where they were provided first aid and later admitted them Apollo BGS Hospital in city. It was indeed lucky for the occupants of the car, as water was very less in the canal. There would have been fatalities if there was more water in the canal and if the incident had taken place in the night.