Eight devotees drown after boat capsizes near Karwar in Karnataka

Bengaluru: A boat ferrying 26 devotees from the offshore island of Kurumgarh to Rabindranath Tagore Beach near Karwar capsized at about 1500 hours on 21 Jan 2019. Upon being informed of the incident by the district administration at about 1645 hours, the Indian Navy immediately despatched two Chetak Helicopters and two fast interceptor crafts to the area for search and rescue. Diving teams from Karwar Naval Area have also been deployed.

Of the 26 persons reported to have been in the boat, 17 people were immediately rescued by other civil boats operating in the area. Eight bodies have been recovered by the naval units. Search is on for the one person still missing.

According to police, there was an annual fair at the Kurumagada island in the Arabian sea, where the Narasimha Swamy shrine (dedicated to Lord Vishnu's incarnation Narasimha) is located.

Police had earlier said nearly 1,000 people had gone there to take part in the fair and the boat capsized while returning to the Karwar beach.