MANGALURU: In an unfortunate turn of events, an elderly man who attempted suicide by drowning was saved while a young man who impulsively jumped into the water for a swim drowned. The two incidents happened almost simultaneously at the Panambur beach said eyewitnesses.
As per eyewitnesses, it was somewhere between 1:15 PM and 1:30 PM when 18-year-old Sundaraj, son of Keshav Gerukatte from Belthangady, was at the beach with his friends. While the 12 boys were trying to step into the water, they were asked to retreat because of rough weather at sea. "However, Sundaraj jumped into the water before anybody could react and went missing," an eyewitness said. The search for his body is still on, said Panambur inspector Rafique K M.
A few minutes before this incident, 69-year-old Mahadevappa, son of Malledevaru from Gundlupete, Chamarajanagar attempted to commit suicide by walking into the sea near the southern side of the main beach. He was rescued and handed over to the police, said Yatish Baikampady, CEO, Panambur Beach Development Authority.
The police officer said his son is arriving from Gundlupete. "The man was abandoned by his wife about six years ago, and he was in the doldrums all this while. He was living with his son and had visited the Dharmasthala and Subramanya temple before coming to the beach to attempt suicide," said the officer investigating the case.