9-yr-old swept away as mom watches helplessly

MANGALURU: A nine-year-old girl was swept away in Brahmakunda river right in front of her mother's eyes. The incident took place at Kundapur taluk on Friday. The girl, who is feared to have drowned, has been identified as Vismaya of Maranakatte, Chitthur village. Vismaya's mother Jalaja, upon the child's request, let go of her hand while crossing the narrow wooden bridge, in spite of water flowing almost over it. The child immediately ran on the bridge, slipped and fell into the river, and was washed away in the swift currents. The incident took place at 9am while Jalaja was taking the child to school. The victim was studying in Class III at Maranakatte government school. Although the locals gathered immediately and put nets at a vented dam about a kilometre downstream, to prevent the girl from being washed away into the sea, they could not find the body. The current was strong as the area has been receiving heavy rainfall from Thursday. The villagers searched for the child in the deep waters till late afternoon.