Karnataka: Sudden sluice gate opening at Markonahalli dam claims six lives

Tumakuru (Karnataka), Oct 7 (PTI) At least six people drowned after the sluice gate of the Markonahalli dam suddenly opened, sweeping them away on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

The victims, residents of BG Palya in Tumakuru town, were part of a group that had gone to the dam for a picnic when the incident occurred.

According to Tumakuru Superintendent of Police Ashok K V, 15 people had travelled from BG Palya to Madipalya and decided to visit the dam, as Tuesday was a public holiday.

“Seven people had entered the downstream of the dam as the water level was low. Suddenly, the water flow increased, and they were swept away,” Ashok told reporters.

Two bodies have been recovered so far, while four others remain missing, police said, adding that search operations are ongoing.

A man identified as Nawaz was rescued alive but sustained serious injuries and has been admitted to a hospital.

Police, fire, and emergency personnel rushed to the spot upon learning of the incident.

“Because it’s dark now and the water flow is high, we have halted the search. I have already deployed teams to specific points. Except for Nawaz, all others are feared dead. Two young girls are still missing,” Ashok said.

The officer explained that the dam has a natural gravity sluice gate, which opens automatically as the water level rises.

“We will get to know about the sequence of events after the investigation. We have to get details from the engineer on whether someone opened the sluice gate. Since it’s an auto-sluice, it opens when the water level increases,” he said. PTI GMS SSK