Mangaluru: A youth is suspected to have drowned and four of his family members were rescued after a sand-laden boat capsized in the Netravati River near Pavoor Kadavu village on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday. The deceased is Lukman (21), a resident of Harekala Rajagudde, who was feared drowned in the tragedy. However his body is yet to be found.
The five members of a family had entered the river near Sahyadri College of Engineering & Management in Adyar at around 1:30 p.m. to fetch sand. The tragedy took place when the family members were sailing ashore with a boat load of sand. Police sources said that when the boat reached mid-river, it suddenly capsized after being hit by strong a wind and undercurrents.
Four others, identified as Tanzeel, Abdul Azeez, Badruddin and Saleem have fortunately survived. All the five members on board the ill-fated boat were family members. Tanzeel, Abdul Azeez and Badruddin are brothers. Saleem is their brother-in-law and Lukman is their nephew.
Local people say the family members were engaged in sand business for several years. They were fetching sand by a boat owned by one Asif from Mangaluru.
An auto-rickshaw driver, identified as Iqbal, noticed the tragedy raised the alarm on seeing the the three reached the spot through a small boat and rescued Tanzeel and Badruddin. Abdul Azeez and Saleem managed to swim ashore. They were shifted to a hospital. However, Lukman is still missing.
