Karnataka - Mangalore   

‘This tragedy is too grave to forget'

— Photo: R. Eswarraj

Relatives and neighbours waiting for the body of Deepak at his cousin's house at Urwa in Mangalore on Saturday.

MANGALORE: The recovery of the bodies of three youths on Saturday – three days after they went missing from Tannirbavi beach – only aggravated the agony of their families and friends.

“This tragedy is too grave to forget. It will take a long time for us to recover,” said Shankar, a neighbour of Santosh, who is one of the three who were drowned in the sea.

Santosh (21), Tilak (21), both residents of CPC compound near Urwa market and Santosh's cousin Deepak (21) from Mumbai went missing on Thursday evening after they entered the sea at Tannirbavi beach on Thursday. The three had gone with four other friends.

“It's difficult to take a look at the bodies of these three youngsters, whom we know from childhood. We were all involved in the search operation and have not slept since Thursday evening,” Mr. Shankar, a resident of CPC compound for over 30 years, said.

The bodies of Santosh and Deepak were found at bengre in Aluve Bagilu around 7 a.m. The body of Tilak was found near a stone on the Ullal Beach around 10 a.m.

Search

The CPC compound residents started the search immediately after they heard about the incident from four of Santosh's friends, who had also gone for swimming. They were joined by autorickshaw drivers from Urwa as Deepak's uncle Kishore Kumar is president of the Urwa Autorickshaw Drivers' Union. “We were sure that the bodies will come to shore and we kept a constant watch on the coastline between Kuloor and Someshwara. We were also in touch with the fishermen,” said autorickshaw driver Norbert D'Souza.

Deepak's uncle Chandrahas was finding it hard to explain the loss the trio, who were all related to each other.

Bonding

“The three shared a good bonding. They had got together for the rituals related to 13 {+t} {+h} day of death of Deepak's grandmother Muttu,” he said.

Deepak, a final year B.Com student, had come down from Mumbai with his father Gopal Poojary, who works in a hotel. The two were supposed to leave Mangalore on June 23, he said.

‘Warning ignored'

The residents were sad that the three youngsters and their four friends ventured to swim despite knowing the sea was rough and waves were unpredictable.

“We live about 500 metres away from the river (estuary) and we know how the water levels fluctuate,” Vinod, a resident said.

“They had not entered the sea when they had been there on Sunday (June 19). But on Thursday they got into the sea despite being cautioned against it by the local people,” he said.

The families and friends performed the funeral on Saturday evening.

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