4 dead, 2 fishermen missing as 30cm rain pounds Dakshina Kannada district

MANGALURU: Four persons, including three children, died and two fishermen are reported missing as nearly 300mm rain pounded several parts of Dakshina Kannada late Thursday and Friday.

In the first incident, a landslide in Pambada Hittilu Kodi Koppala of Montepadavu in Manjanady village trapped five people under the mud late Thursday night, leading to the death of Prema Poojary, 58, and her grandsons - 2.5-year-old Aryan and one-year-old Arush.

Multi-department rescue teams saved the lives of Prema's husband Kanthappa Poojary and Ashwini, the mother of the child victims. Initially, the bodies of Prema and Aryan were retrieved from the debris after many hours of the incident. Later, Arush was rescued, but died on the way to the hospital.

The landslide took place when the Kanthappa-Prema couple, their son Seetharama, his wife Ashwini, and children were sleeping in their house. The hillock and a tree behind their house crashed on their residence. Seetharama managed to escape and alerted neighbours, who made efforts to rescue others. However, the rescue operation was difficult for them as the house was completely damaged.

Many institutions along coast declared holidays
Severely injured Kanthappa and Ashwini were admitted to a hospital.

In the second incident, the rear hill and retaining wall collapsed on Naushad's house in Kanakare in Belma village, resulting in the death of his daughter Fathima Naeema, 10.

Two fishermen are missing after their fishing boat capsized at Thota Bengre. Sources said Yashavanth Karkera, 52, and Kamalaksha Salian, 47, were swept away while fishing at the confluence of the Gurupura and Nethravati rivers.

A holiday has been declared for all anganwadi, primary and high schools in Mangalore, Bantwal, and Ullal taluks. As per KSNDMC report, three places in Ullal taluk received heaviest rain in the 24-hour period starting 8.30am Thursday: Kotekar received 313mm, Talapady 288mm and Kinya received 282mm of rainfall.

Besides hilly terrains, some of the city areas in Mangaluru, too, bore the brunt of heavy rain and witnessed flooding. A huge tree that collapsed at Bejai in Mangaluru led to traffic disruption for a few hours before it was cleared.

Houses and properties were damaged due to flooding in several parts of Ullal taluk and in Mangaluru city. Water entered homes, schools, and shops, resulting in significant damage. Residents stranded in isolated areas due to flooding were rescued by locals in Uchila using boats.