Karwar: Six tourists, who were on a picnic to Nagaramadi Falls in Karwar, were washed away when the water in the rivulet went up suddenly because of heavy rains on Sunday afternoon.
All the six were from Goa and had come to Karwar to visit the falls. The drowned are identified as Sameer Gavade (32) of Ponda, Siddu Chari (22) of Vasco, Fiona Pacheco (29) of Raya, Marcelina Estebio (38) of Curtorim and Francila Pires (21) of Raya and Renuka (23).
Nagarmadi is a small waterfalls at Chendiya village of Karwar taluk and is around 3 km from the highway. Tourists from various places visit this falls regularly. On Sunday too, some groups of tourists had arrived at the spot. The six who drowned were from three different groups. It is said that the women were from one group, while the two men each were from two other groups.
“Some of the tourists were on the rocks and some were on the banks enjoying themselves and the water level was not high. Suddenly, the water level increased because of heavy rains and within minutes, there was flood waters gushing through the rivulet. The water level went up by 2-3 metre and the current was also very strong. Those on the rocks did not have enough time to run to the other side. As people were looking, six tourists were washed away,” Janashakthi Vedike president Madhav Naik, who was part of the rescue team, told Deccan Chronicle.
"The body of two have been found and the search is on for others. Meanwhile, some others who were about to be washed away in the water managed to escape with minor injuries," he said.
Elected representatives, including Curtorim MLA and leaders from Goa, visited Karwar on Sunday evening. A case has been registered at the Karwar Rural police station.
Mr Naik said that though the spot attracted a good number of tourists, it is considered dangerous as there have been several deaths here earlier.
