Selfie craze proves fatal as two feared drowned in Kali river

KARWAR, 13 Apr 2021 [Fik/News Sources]: The mood to get a selfie proved costly for two friends, who fell off a bridge into the River Kali on Monday. They have been missing since then. They were trying to take a selfie with the Kali as the backdrop, but purportedly fell into the river instead. They are feared to have been washed away by the current. The incident took place near Supa Dam at Ganeshgudi in Joida taluk of Uttara Kannada district. According to eyewitnesses, they were sitting on the parapet wall of the bridge and taking a selfie, when the mobile phone slipped out of the girl’s hands. In a bid to catch it, she lunged at it and fell down.

“The boy, who tried to save his friend, also lost balance and fell into the water,” said a local. People who witnessed the incident alerted the jurisdictional Ramanagar police, who rushed to the spot.

With the help of local aquasports operators and the Fire department, police launched a search operation and were able to retrieve the mobile phone.

Data from the device helped track the details of the girl, who has been identified as Rakshita, a native of Bidar, and a student of engineering. However, the details of the boy are yet to be ascertained. According to police, the two had arrived in a rickshaw from Dandeli. The search was suspended after dark, and will resume on Tuesday.