Madikeri: Makara Sankranthi holiday turned tragic for a family in Kushalnagar when the car in which they were travelling met with an accident and fell into a Lake. A woman and her daughter drowned while the woman’s husband managed to get out and swim to safety. 

The accident occurred at Balekadu on the National Highway near Suntikoppa on Thursday night and the victims have been identified as 42-year-old Babitha, wife of Venkatesh and their 13-year-old daughter Pallavi. 

Venkatesh works as a first division clerk at Forest Department in Madikeri and the family had been to Puttur in Dakshina Kannada in their Alto car (KA-12-P-1102) to meet Surya, the couple’s elder son who is studying in a private college there. They started from Kushalnagar on Thursday (Jan. 14) morning as it was a holiday for Sankranthi. 

Venkatesh was driving the car and after meeting Surya, the family was returning to Kushalnagar when Venkatesh lost control over the vehicle and rammed a tree on Balekadu Road and later the car fell into a Lake nearby. The accident occurred at around 9.15 pm. 

Hearing the loud noise of the car plunging into the Lake, nearby plantation workers Kapali, Ashok and Balakrishna and plantation manager Prasanna Kumar rushed to the spot and rescued Venkatesh who was swimming towards the bank. They, however, could not save Babitha and Pallavi who drowned along with the car. Babitha had also sustained a grievous head injury. Their bodies were fished out later after lifting the car with the help of a crane.

Dy.SP Shailendra, Circle Inspector Mahesh visited the spot and based on the complaint by plantation manager Prasanna Kumar, a case has been registered at Suntikoppa Police Station.