JOIN USSix members of a family were killed as the coracle they had hired capsized at Hogenakkal Falls on Sunday evening. The bodies were retrieved on Monday and handed over to the family members after post-mortem.
According to police, two bodies were found on Sunday and the search for the remaining bodies continued on Monday. While two more bodies were retrieved from the water near the falls, the remaining two were found near Athur, Gopinatham, after a few hours.
The family from T Nagar, in Chennai, was on a picnic to Hogenakkal Falls on Sunday. After visiting various tourist spots nearby, the family took a coracle for rent to have a better glimpse of the falls.
The mishap occurred when they were being ferried back to the banks of the River Cauvery. It is said that two people in the coracle tried to take pictures at the same time and lost balance, resulting in the capsize of the coracle. Six members of the family who were in the coracle fell into the water and drowned.
A case has been registered in the Hogenakkal police station. Murugesh, who was ferrying the family, was arrested by the police.
However, Murugesh, during police inquiry, explained that despite his warnings, two members of the family stood up at the same time to take a photograph of the falls, resulting in the mishap. He himself had escaped in a miraculous manner, he added.