BENGALURU: A 13-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister drowned in the Kengeri lake at Kengeri Satellite Town here on Monday evening.
They have been identified as John Srinivas and Lakshmi of Harsha Layout. Their bodies were recovered on Tuesday.
Their mother Nagamma, who is a widow, was not at home when the incident happened. When Nagamma did not see her children after returning home, she went in search of them and saw her son’s clothes on the lake bund. Nagamma’s neighbours called the police control room after she alerted them.
Personnel from the Fire and Emergency Services Department, who launched a search operation on Monday evening, stopped it after a few hours due to rain and darkness. They resumed their operation on Tuesday morning and recovered the body of Srinivas around 11am and Lakshmi’s by 4.15pm.
Srinivas and Lakshmi reportedly went to fetch water from a tank near their house. While returning home, they went to the lake and started playing on the walking track there. The plastic water pot, which Lakshmi was carrying, is said to have slipped from her hand and fell into the lake. She is suspected to have drowned in the lake when she tried to get hold of the pot that was floating. Srinivas, who jumped into the lake to save her, also drowned.
Police, however, suspect that the siblings might have drowned while trying to pluck lotuses in the lake. Children from localities near the lake usually pluck lotuses from the lake and sell them.
The lake was rejuvenated recently after removing silt from it. The children might not be aware of the depth of the rejuvenated lake and entered it.