27 drown as van falls into tank in Mysore

Twenty-seven people, most of them women, drowned when a van in which they were travelling fell into Undabatti tank near Kadakola on the Mysore-Nanjangud Road on Tuesday. The vehicle carried more than 30 passengers. The dead included 23 women and three children.
The victims were from Aralakuppe, Katteri and Shyadanahalli villages in the Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district. They were returning after a wedding feast (Beegara oota) hosted by the bridegroom’s parents in Nanjangud town, when the accident occurred around 4 pm. The marriage of Pallavi Pooja with Lokesh took place near Krishna Raja Sagar Dam on Sunday. According to eyewitnesses, the vehicle fell into the tank after the driver reportedly lost control of the wheel. The driver and cleaner are said to have escaped from the scene, soon after the vehicle sank into the tank. Both are suspected to be under the influence of alcohol. As soon as the accident occurred, local people swung into action. They jumped into the tank and brought the bodies on to the shore. They saved four to five persons who were crying for help after being thrown out of the vehicle and helped the injured to be shifted to K R Hospital in Mysore. The deceased were identified as Brinda, Veena, Jayamma, Ratnamma, Lakshmi, Vinodamma, Geeta, Rani, Premamma, Premamma, Manasa (11months), Prashanth, Sanna Devamma, Ponnamma, Sumathi, Prema, Bhagya, Mahadevamma, Devamma, Prashanth. Chintu aka Prashanth had celebrated his birthday on Monday. The dead include the bride’s mother Prema (40), aunt Lakshmi (28) and grandmother Sannamadamma (65). The survivors included Veena, Bharati (both in their mid-thirties), along with Bettamma and Jayamma (both above 70 years).

Rescue operation

On receiving information, the city and district police rushed to the spot and launched rescue operations. Personnel from the Department of Fire Force used rubber dinghies in the operation. The bodies were shifted to KR Hospital in ambulances. The ill-fated van was lifted from the tank with the help of two cranes belonging to KSRTC around 8:30 pm. Three vehicles were arranged by the marriage party to attend the “beegara oota” in Nanjangud. In the first vehicle, the newly wed bride, groom and others were travelling. It was followed by the ill-fated van. In another vehicle, 17 were travelling. The police diverted traffic on the highway as it was hampering rescue operations. Meanwhile, hundreds of onlookers gathered at the spot, which hit the operations. Later, the police dispersed the crowd.